


Stranger Visitations

by Lexarius



Category: DCU (Comics), Evangelion
Genre: Adventure, F/M, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-02
Updated: 2017-12-14
Packaged: 2018-11-22 11:27:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 30,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11379258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lexarius/pseuds/Lexarius
Summary: The Phantom Stranger sets Shinji Ikari on a new path; one that may save his soul, and the world.





	1. Chapter 1

_A Stranger’s Visit_

* * *

 Please Read and Review. I'd like to know what I'm doing right (to keep doing it), and what I'm I doing wrong (to correct it).

* * *

**GeoFront**   
**NERV Detention Cells**   
**2 Days After Shamshel**

A cell. _Somber. Lonely. Silent_

Inside, a fourteen years old kid. _Somber. Lonely. Silent._

His silence was the silence of a helpless creature, hiding from a predator. Hoping to not be noticed.

Locked inside for two days, with no other company but his thoughts.

He had defeated his enemy. The enemy of all mankind. But he had done so by disobeying orders. Risking death. And with his own death, the death of two other kids in the plug. And then, maybe, the rest of the world.

His mood went round melancholy, anger, and guilt.

_I don't like to be alone, but it is better than being hurt by others._  
_I killed the Angel! That was the whole point! Wasn't it?  
_ _I should not have disobeyed Misato. She's trained for this sort of thing._

His thoughts went from one of these extremes to the other, constantly.

A sound distracted him. Footsteps. Somebody was coming through the long hall. But those weren't the heavy footsteps of the guards, with their military boots. Nor the agile walk of Misato, with her high heels. These where the steps of someone with a purpose. Almost like his Father's.

But they lacked something. These were deliberate steps. And at the same time... they lacked that rigid certainty that marked Gendo Ikari’s every step. They stopped in front of his cell. A few seconds later, a soft glow in the frame of the reinforced steel door, and the sound of the locks opening one after the other. The boy had been in the dark for so long, the light hurt his eyes.

A short while later, he was getting used to the light again. There was someone at the door of the cell, standing in silence. Not a guard. Nor Misato. Nor Father.

The stranger wasn’t in uniform, not of any NERV’s staff he knew, not even a guard’s. Shinji only saw a black silhouette, sharply defined by the light from outside. It was a tall man, wearing a hat; strangely, he wore a long, high collared cloak. The brim of the cloak almost touched the floor. But the weirdest thing of all was that, someway, despite being in the shadow, Shinji could see the man’s eyes. They were completely white, without iris or pupil. He felt like the stranger was looking right into his soul.

“Follow me”, said the man, and without waiting for an answer, turned around, leaving the door open. His cloak flared for a moment, and fell heavily around him.

Shinji discovered that he had no fear of this man. His voice was soft, almost melancholic, but determined. Shinji followed after him. Looking around, he noticed that something was very strange in the place, all the colors seemed washed out; except for himself and the strange man, everything looked pale, like an old photograph.

Once in the hall, Shinji saw more details on the man. The stranger’s cloak and hat were dark blue, his elegant black shoes shone, perfectly polished. The little he could see of his hair was completely white. The purest white. Didn’t look like the hair of an old man, nor the fragile hair of an albino.

A few steps ahead, Shinji was at the stranger’s side. The man had a strong profile. His features and the color of his skin were of western ascent. Although… he could not see the eyes of the man. The brim of his fedora projected a shadow so deep it was disturbing. The nose was long and straight. His mouth was a sharp line above a square and decisive chin .

The stranger walked without looking at his sides. Shinji didn’t dare to talk. He just walked alongside the man; watching him carefully, trying to find out something about him. He was dressed in a sharp dark blue suit, so dark it almost seemed black. Curiously, instead of a shirt and tie, he wore a white turtle-neck jersey. A golden medallion hung from his neck. A gold chain and clasps held his cloak in place over his shoulders. His hands were covered with white gloves that almost seemed a second skin.

The boy gathered his courage. "Uh… Sir..?" the man stopped suddenly, turning around towards Shinji. His face held no visible emotion. "Who… who are you?"

"I’m the Phantom Stranger, Shinji Ikari. I have come because a heavy load has been put upon your shoulders. An impossible task. And because those who did it, know you _will_ fail."

Shinji felt like the ground had opened below him. "..I know… I’m weak. Useless." His voice cracked.

The Stranger put his hands on the boy’s shoulders. "You are wrong. You are stronger than you think. But you have been chained with doubts and fears. They **_want_** you to fail."

"What? Who? Why?"

"Come with me, I will show you. It won’t be an easy journey. But you will find the strength you need." They walked towards the EVA cages. To the observation deck.

* * *

There was no one there.

Professor Fujutsuki came in, accompanied by Shinji’s father, holding on his arms a boy, three or four years old.

But… Gendo Ikari was …smiling. Shinji couldn’t remember having seen him smile. Ever. And Professor Fujutsuki seemed younger.

"Watch." the Stranger was standing at the windows, looking down.

Shinji came closer. Down there, he could see the EVA-01’s head. Behind it, a plug, waiting to be inserted into the giant’s body. A brown-haired woman, wearing a tight plugsuit, was about to get in the plug.

Seeing her, Shinji’s blood froze in his veins. He turned around, and saw the boy standing by the window, waving his little hand at the woman. Shinji looked at the boy intensely, recognizing himself.

"Mom! _That’s my Mother!_ " Desperate, he hit repeatedly the thick bullet-proof glass with his hands. Trying to get his mother’s attention, to keep her from entering that plug. To keep her from… dying. Everything had come back to his memory; he knew what would happen in a few seconds.

"I am sorry, Shinji," said the Stranger softly. "This is the past, you cannot change it. Only learn from it."

"Do something! Stop her, please! I beg you… don’t let her die…" Shinji fell on his knees, still beating weakly at the glass, his face soaked by his tears.

"We can’t do anything." There was a deep sadness in the Stranger’s voice. "Your mother is sacrificing herself on your behalf. And her sacrifice will be defiled in the name of ambition and pride."

He turned around, and went back out before the plug closed itself and entered the EVA’s body. Shinji looked at the smiling face of his mother for the last time; and said goodbye, as he hadn't done ten years before… He ran out before… it happened.

The Stranger waited for him at the other end of the hall. Once close by, Shinji realized the man’s fists were closed, with a lot of strength, but his face was still as blank as Rei Ayanami’s.

Shinji dried his tears. He tried to speak, but couldn’t. The Stranger rested a hand on his shoulder, in silence, waiting.

Finally, Shinji found his voice. "Why? Why her?"

"Because she once believed in the words of those who are willing to sacrifice the whole world."

Shinji stared at him. The Stranger opened a heavily reinforced door, and his cloak flared at a blast of freezing air. He crossed the threshold. Shinji followed him.

* * *

At the other side, Shinji felt another blast of cold air, it smelled like the sea, but his own breath didn’t mist before his face, nor the Stranger’s. It wasn’t actual cold, more like the memory of cold. He was thinking about that when a girl passed him by. She was wrapped on heavy clothing, and very angry.

She went right into a cabin, a short man followed her closely. It looked like he was trying to apologize. The girl simply ignored him, and locked herself inside the cabin. The man knocked helplessly at the door, until he gave up a few minutes later.

Another man came close, they spoke for a short while. Despite the heavy hooded parkas, Shinji recognized the second man. Gendo Ikari. Both men went away.

"What’s he doing here? Where are we?"

The Stranger didn’t answer for several uncomfortable seconds. "We are at the sacrificial shrine for half of Mankind. At this place, the most monstrous betrayal in history will take place. And only its engineers will know about it."

Shinji didn’t know what to say.

The Stranger and Shinji followed the two men to an office. Gendo Ikari received a lot of folders, notebooks full of data, and a box of computer files. He put everything in a suitcase. And then took another box, it looked like an ice-box. Both men came out the office, and after shaking hands, went each his own way. Gendo to a waiting helicopter.

The little man went to a big chamber. It looked like a hangar. The floor was a big expanse of ice. From their vantage point, Shinji could see a colossal silhouette under the frozen surface. It looked like a giant, with something long and narrow near his hand. Where his head should be, somebody had been chipping the ice off. There were several workers there, they looked like ants. Hours seemed to pass in a few moments. The little man shouted instruction at the workers. Curious, Shinji got closer to him. He noticed the patch on the left sleeve of the man, and read the writing. "Katsuragi Expedition. 2000-2001" Fifteen years back… Katsuragi! Back in 2000, Misato would have been about fourteen years old.

"Yes. That girl is Misato Katsuragi. Only survivor of the Katsuragi Expedition…" The Stranger’s voice jarred Shinji out of his thoughts. A horrible sound filled the air. "Adam has awoken."

Before Shinji could say something, a powerful light came from below. The ice cracked, and the workers started to run. They couldn’t get to the stairs before the ice blew up, and a giant made of light stood slowly. Horrified, the little man broke into a run, Shinji and the Stranger followed him closely. Behind them, the hangar fell to pieces.

At Misato’s cabin, the girl had opened the door; alarmed by the noise, she looked around. The little man took her brusquely by the arm, yelling something she didn’t understand, and both ran towards a group of tubes on the floor. An explosion made them fall, the girl was stunned, and the man was bleeding. A lot.

The little man dragged the girl, opened one of the cylinders, and dropped her inside. Clumsily, he took off a silver cross from his neck, putting it into hers. Blood stained the girl’s parka, it had been ripped open in the explosion. The man closed the capsule, and covered it with his own body. It was his last conscious act.

Behind them, the giant of light had come out of the hangar. His eyes looked like two wells to the deepest and coldest abyss in the whole universe. A howl pierced their ears, and a silent explosion of light covered them.

In the deafening silence, the Stranger whispered, "Second Impact."

* * *

When Shinji’s vision cleared, he realized they were back at the EVA cages, but instead of Units Zero or One, they were looking at a different EVA. It was blood red, and it had two sets of eyes, one over the other. All four eyes were round and green.

By the EVA’s side, a woman was writing data on a tablet. Her long blond hair fell behind her, over her white labcoat.

"Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu," said the Stranger. "Part of the team that took the remains of a god to create their own gods, made at their own likeness."

Soryu went away, and came back a few minutes later, dressed with a plugsuit. Shinji knew instantly what would happen. "S-she… She doesn’t know what happened to my mother?"

"She does. She has modified the systems, with safeguards to keep the EVA from absorbing her body."

Relieved, Shinji sighed, until the Stranger spoke again. "It won’t be enough."

Shinji followed the Stranger out from the observation chamber. They walked through a long hall. Shinji recognized the aseptic smell. A hospital. A small child overtook them, she was about four years old, her long red hair was tied up in two long pigtails. A grim looking man was with her. The girl went ahead, and opened the door of a room. The man remained outside.

A blond woman was sitting on the bed. Her legs were crossed, Indian-style. Her dead hair fell over her face. Shinji barely recognized her as Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu. She held a ragdoll on her hands. It had red string hair, button eyes, and a simple dress; on it, the name _Asuka_ had been written with shaky hands.

Slowly, the girl got closer to the woman, trying to get her attention, but she turned around, with her back to the girl, caressing the doll’s hair, whispering. The girl cried and screamed, but the woman just tuned her out. Her eyes were lost, seeing something only she could see.

"She has lost a part of the soul, she can’t recognize her daughter anymore, and pours her motherly love into an inert object." Seeing the girl’s tears, Shinji’s heart broke.

"Can we do something?"

"No. Not yet." They went back to the hall. For a moment, darkness surrounded them.

When the light came back, the girl, a bit taller, ran by their side. A big smile on her face. She went directly to the room, opened the door, and stood paralyzed on the threshold. Her smile broke like a crystal.

Behind her, Shinji looked into the room, horrified. A body hanged from the ceiling. He didn’t dare to look at her face. Turning his eyes, he saw another object hanging beside her. The doll. Its head hanging loosely from a small noose.

Shinji would have given anything to comfort the girl. But he couldn’t do anything but cry for her. "Let’s leave, Stranger. Please."

The Stranger nodded, and walked to the stairs. As they went down, he looked at Shinji from the shadow that hid his eyes. "Asuka Langley Soryu will build a wall around her heart, to keep the pain away. That wall will be her prison. When your path and hers cross, you will see a young woman; proud, haughty, condescending. Her anger will flare at the littlest things. She will despise weakness in others as a way to keep her own weaknesses hidden and safe. All of that will be nothing but a mask, the way her wall is shown to the world. You have seen the fragile girl behind that mask. Only you can free her."

"M-me? Why me? I’m useless…"

"Because only you know what is like to stand prisoner behind such a wall. Because you know the same pain she does. Because you don’t want anybody to suffer." The Stranger stared at Shinji. "Not when you can do something about it."

* * *

They crossed another door, this time, to an office. Inside, his Father was sitting on a sofa, playing with a blue-haired girl with scarlet eyes. She could not be anybody but Rei Ayanami. Shinji felt betrayed, even more so than when he had been cruelly abandoned at a train station, when he was four years old.

But there was something weird here. Rei was… laughing…

Gendo Ikari whispered something at the girl’s ear. She nodded with all the seriousness only a child can express, smiled at Gendo Ikari; and then she went out, skipping away. A cruel smile oozed from the Commander’s lips. He picked up the phone, dialing a number.

The Stranger and Shinji followed Rei to the outside. A little while later, they found her; she was with a thirty something years old woman. She inclined towards Rei with a condescence barely disguised as courtesy. After a brief talk, her brow furrowed, first with irritation, and after a few words more from the girl, annoyance, and then, anger.

The Stranger whispered, "Doctor Naoko Akagi, Chief of Project E, Creator of the MAGI. Mother of Ritsuko Akagi. Lover of Gendo Ikari. Murderer and Victim at the same time."

Shinji looked back at the woman. Her furious hands squeezed Rei Ayanami’s neck. The girl’s eyes showed only the whites, her pale face was purple, and her tongue protruded from her lips.

"…It can’t be… Rei…" Shinji extended a hand towards the scene, despite knowing he wasn’t really there.

"She is dead, Shinji. And yet, she will live."

Horrified, Naoko Akagi looked at her hands. Rei’s limp body fell on the floor like a ragdoll. Naoko covered her mouth with her hands, stifling a scream. Trembling, she stood, ran to the handrail. And jumped.

The wet crack heard a few seconds later made Shinji feel sick. He felt the hand of the Stranger over his shoulder. The door opened, and a group of orderlies came in, followed by Gendo Ikari. He took Rei’s pulse, smiled satisfied, and made a gesture to his companions. The orderlies put Rei’s body on a stretcher, and hurried it away.

Gendo looked over the handrail with a mocking smile, and went after the others. Shinji went towards the handrail. The Stranger stopped him before he could look. They stared silently at each other for a moment.

They walked back to the observation deck. Gendo shouted orders at a microphone, starting up the controls. In the cage, the one eye of Unit-00 watched impassibly as the orderlies put Rei’s body in the plug.

"Are they… going.. to..?"

" _Yes_." The Stranger’s fists were trembling. "The EVAs are not simply machines. To work, they require something else. A soul. Or at least, part of one." Although he still spoke softly, Shinji could guess at the fury the Stranger felt. It was the same rage that invaded him.

The plug entered the Evangelion’s body. Ikari checked the dials, and started to push buttons. Unit-00’s eye flashed for a moment, and then went dark. A rumbling sound crossed the cage. It was like the growl of a savage beast…

The plug came out. The orderlies took the inert body out, and without any ceremony, dropped it into a metal box, taking it with them. Ikari turned off the controls, and left the deck. Shinji and the Stranger followed him to a lift. They entered behind him.

It was a long way down. No one spoke during the long minutes the lift took to arrive to its destination.

They walked along a long hall, lighted by a series of lamps too far apart one from the other. Behind a heavy door, full of electronic locks, awaited a cold room, with walls of glass at each side, and a dais at the center. Gendo pushed a couple buttons on the dais, and a long transparent cylinder rose from the floor. It filled with a clear, ambarine fluid Shinji knew very well. LCL.

Behind the walls of glass, lights were turned on. A group of small bodies floated in the liquid. Rei Ayanami looked at them from each one of those smiling faces. But their eyes were hideously empty. There was nothing behind those scarlet eyes.

"Clones," said the Stranger. "Copies without a soul. Made from an Angel and a woman." Shinji rested his hands on the glass, looking at the clones. He didn’t know what to say.

"The Rei Ayanami you know was created at this lab. Cloned from cells taken from an alien creature, known as Lilith, the Second Angel, a prisoner here in the Geo-front; and Yui Ikari."

Shinji chocked on his own breath. "…Then… Rei is… my… mother..?"

"No, Rei is Rei. No one else. In a way, she is family to you. But she has been maimed. The clones you see floating in those tanks horrify you because you can feel they have no soul. They are nothing but spares for Rei Ayanami’s soul. They haven’t had the chance to grow their own souls. Their creator has denied them that chance."

A body descended into the LCL cylinder. "That body now contains a part of Rei’s soul. The rest is in Unit-00."

Solemly, the Stranger looked down. "Unit-01 took you mother’s life. She is a prisoner inside it. She can barely sense the world outside the Evangelion. The only thing she can feel is your presence when you are near. When Unit-01 goes berserk, that’s your mother acting to protect you."

"C-can we get her out..?"

"No. She is so integrated into the EVA she cannot be separated from it."

Meanwhile, Gendo was adjusting the controls in the dais.

The Stranger kept talking, "Unit-02 took part of Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu’s soul. Her motherly love. Without it, her mind fractured. That is the reason she could not recognize her daughter. When she died, her soul was reunited inside Unit-02. She is in the same condition as Yui Ikari."

Shinji nodded weakly, the Stranger kept talking. "Unit-00 took Rei Ayanami’s emotions. Her fear, her despair, are the predominant emotions in the EVA. That is the reason she has such a hard time synchronizing with it."

"And that’s why she’s so… cold." Shinji whispered.

"In part. Rei is still capable of feeling emotions. But they are very weak. During the next years, Rei will grow up isolated. Gendo Ikari wants a pilot who is absolutely obedient, one that won’t hesitate to die when he gives the order."

"WHY?" Shinji was surprised of his own anger, "WHAT COULD BE SO IMPORTANT TO _JUSTIFY_ ALL OF THIS?"

"Apotheosis. The Ascent to Divinity."

* * *

They left the lab behind. Crossed another door. They arrived to a dark and cold room. Gendo Ikari and Professor Fujutsuki entered. Gendo sat down behind a heavy desk, tenting his fingers before his face; while Fujutsuki stood behind him, his hands at his back, still as a statue.

One by one, lights turned on. Each one shone over a desk, each occupied by a person. Each light had a different color.

"This is the Comitee for the Human Instrumentalization. A name that reveals nothing. As dark as the intentions of its members."

Shinji saw the men talking; all of them exuded an aura of both power and desperation. The one in the end of the room opposite to Gendo Ikari had a weird thing over his eyes. And from the deference the others showed him, Shinji guessed he was the leader.

In the center of the room, floated the image of a series of stone tablets. "The Dead Sea Scrolls. Not the version released to archaeologists, believed to be drafts or commentaries of apocryphal Scriptures. These are documents that precede Humanity, and even life itself, on this planet. They detail the Second Impact. The Coming of the Angels. And the Apocalypse that will be the Third Impact. These men are the Inner Circle of a secret organization called SEELE; a cabal that has guided the world from the shadows, ever since the texts were deciphered."

An unfathomable loathing was clear in the Phantom Stranger’s voice. "These are the architects of Second Impact. Aspirants to godhood. Architects of the complete annihilation of the human race."

The image changed, replaced by a series of pictures. Yui Ikari, Naoko Akagi, Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu. Then, they were replaced by the images of three children, Rei Ayanami, Asuka Langley Soryu, and Shinji Ikari. And then, by the Evangelions.

"At this moment, they are fine tuning their plans. They want to cause the Third Impact, controlling it so the whole of humankind cease to exist as independent, free-willed beings. Their souls will combine into a single consciousness, under SEELE’s control. According to the Dead Sea Scrolls, they must defeat the Eighteen Angels. Four of them have been defeated. Adam, almost destroyed at Antarctic by his own awakening. Lilith, crucified at a secret chamber deep below the Geo-front. Sachiel and Shamshel, destroyed by Shinji Ikari."

The images changed again. Crude images of Adam, Lilith, Sachiel, Shamshel, and other bizarre creatures appeared.

"Each Angel will be harder to defeat than the previous ones. For their own power and the obstacles SEELE and Gendo Ikari will put in your path. They want the last pilot standing at the last battle be so destroyed spiritually, that his only wish be death, taking the whole world to the tomb. That way, SEELE will be reborn as the consciousness controlling a composite being, made from the souls of the whole human race. This is the end towards which SEELE has manipulated the governments of the world, NERV, Professor Katsuragi, Yui Ikari, Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu, Asuka Langley Soryu."

Shinji’s legs buckled under him. He leaned against a wall for support. "Gendo Ikari won’t follow SEELE’s lead." Shinji looked up at the Stranger. "He will betray them and take control of Third Impact. To be reunited with Yui Ikari."

"That is the reason why he has manipulated your whole life. The life, death and resurrection of Rei Ayanami. The love and death of Naoko Akagi. The life and love of Ritsuko Akagi. The life and loyalty of Kozo Fujutsuki. The life and revenge of Misato Katsuragi. The lifes and futures of all your schoolmates, all of them potential pilots. All pawns he will sacrifice to recover Yui Ikari. Nothing else matters to him."

" **HE IS A MONSTER! _ALL OF THEM ARE MONSTERS!"_**

"Yes. They are."

Vehemently, Shinji slammed his fist against the wall. "NO! _I won’t allow it_!" His eyes were full of tears, but also of a fury and strength capable of turning mountains into dust.

A slight smile danced at the Stranger’s lips. "The road that now opens before you will be full of hardships."

"I don’t care." He wiped his tears with the back of his hand. "I don't know how, but **_I will stop them_**."

"You won’t be able to do so." The Stranger turned his back to Shinji, walking away to the center of the room.

"THEN, WHY DID YOU SHOW ME ALL OF THIS!?"

" _You_ can’t defeat SEELE. That is a task no _one_ can succed at."

The Stranger raised his hand at SEELEs hologram. The other lights went out as one. In the column of light, new images appeared, the faces of Rei, Asuka, now a teenager; Toji, Kensuke, Hikari, Misato, Maya, Makoto, Shigeru, a badly shaved man he didn’t recognize, Ritsuko."

"On the other hand… _ALL_ of you…"

"A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, a net without knots is just a group of threads. You, Shinji Ikari, are alone. And alone, you can’t face this task. Your friends are alone too, not knowing they are pawns in a deadly game."

"It’s up to you to break your chains of doubt, fear, loneliness. And to replace them with bonds of friendship, respect, and companionship. Only then will you be able to save yourself and save the world."

Shinji nodded.

The Stranger and Shinji walked back to the cell. He seemed taller now. Standing straight, his head high.

"Captain Katsuragi will be here in a few minutes. She will reprimand you, and ask you a few questions; then will offer you the chance to leave Tokyo-3 behind and go back to your previous life. She fears that, if you keep piloting like you did in the last fight, you will die in battle. Despite her anger at you after the battle, she cares deeply for you."

"I understand. I’ll stay." He entered the cell, and sat at the bench inside.

Outside the cell, the Stranger nodded back. Once again, his eyes seemed to glow in the dark. He was about to close the door when he heard Shinji’s voice. "Will I see you again?"

"Our paths will cross again, Shinji Ikari. I’ll be watching you. And I will be watching for you."

* * *

The door of the cell closed. Once again, darkness surrounded Shinji.

Once again, the cell was somber. Lonely. Silent.

But the young man inside wasn’t somber nor lonely anymore.

And his silence was the silence of a hunter, sharpening his knife. Planning for the hunt.

* * *

**_Author’s Notes:_ **

I’m a big fan of both Evangelion and the DC Universe. And I wanted to see how they would merge, but instead of mixing Eva and DC characters into composite characters (which I enjoy reading about, the **Superwomen of EVA** are amongst my favorite fanfics), I thought it would be neat to use the DCU to guide and help Shinji to grow up.


	2. Interludes After the Fourth Angel

* * *

 

 

 _Katsuragi/Ikari Apartment_  
Two Days After Shamshel,  
Early Night

“...Back home...” whispered Shinji. “This time, I have a lot to think about.”

He apologized to Misato, and locked himself in “Shinji’s Lovely Suite”, as Misato has named his room.

He laid in bed, and without realizing, his hand searched for his SDAT, as he always did to run away from the world. He was about to put the earplugs on when he remembered the Stranger. His hands stopped. The images the Phantom Stranger had shown him whirled around in his mind.

And angry look flashed on his face. The SDAT had belonged to his Fa... No, it had belonged to Commander Ikari. For a moment, he was about to throw the SDAT against the wall, but he stopped himself. “No. Maybe it will be useful later.” He took the batteries out, and carefully, he put it in a drawer.

Silently, he went out the room, and to the kitchen. Misato was there, nursing her second beer of the night. She seemed so... fragile. As if she had the weight of the world on her shoulders.

The young man gathered his courage, and went closer. “M-Misato?” The woman turned towards him, a bit startled. She was lost in her thoughts, and didn’t notice Shinji’s presence until she heard him sit at the table.

“Can we talk?”

The young Captain nodded.

‘ _She’s still mad at me._ ’ Shinji thought.

“I won’t make excuses. My behavior was dangerous. I realize that now.”

Misato raised an eyebrow, interested. “Go on.”

“I want to do my best. Being in the EVA, I should feel powerful, safe; but it really hurts when it gets damaged. I feel like I’m goint to... I don’t know... lose control. Do you think I could take a course or something? Maybe martial arts. I don’t want to be that scared again.” He rubbed his left arm, above the elbow.

Misato smiled. “YES! That’s my Shinji!” and ruffled his hair. “There are a few instructors in NERV, let me check with them. I’ll let you know tomorrow at dinner.”

“And gun practice?”

“Don’t push your luck, Shinji. You have to earn that privilege.”

“Yes, Misato, I will. Urm... Can we talk about something else?”

“Like what? You have a girlfriend and don’t know where to take her for a date?”

Shinji blushed immediately. “N-no, not yet. It’s just... we barely know each other.”

“I see. You want to ask _me_ to be your girlfriend and don’t know where to take me for a _date._ ” She was practically purring.

Shinji ‘s face was an interesting shade of purple. “I-it’s not like that!”

“Aww, you’re so easy to tease!” Misato gave him a big smile. “Well, OK, what do you wanna know?”

They talked a long while. About likes and dislikes. Music. All the trivia that is part of a person’s character. Neither went into too personal stuff. Shinji made some tea, distracting Misato from her beer.

By the time they went to sleep, they knew each other a little better

And they felt a little bit less.. alone.

* * *

**_Tokyo-3 First Municipal Junior High School  
A few days later._ **

Shinji was about to fall asleep on class. He wasn’t the only one. Of all his classmates, the only ones who seemed to be immune to the Sleep spell their old teacher invoked everytime he started his reminiscences of pre-Second-Impact life were Rei Ayanami, who was looking out the window, very focused on her study of a tree, and Hikari Horaki, who stayed awake out of pure stubbornness, had she not being named Class Rep, she would have gladly joined the sleepers, but she wouldn’t dare to set a bad example. Although, frankly, at this hour she was the only one who cared.

Near Shinji, Toji and Kensuke both snored softly. At the moment, not even the class chat had any movement, every student had shut down his or her brain, waiting for the bell signaling the end of the school day.

The young pilot was trying to find a comfortable posture on his desk, when something in the old man’s voice claimed his attention.

“...men and women with strange powers. Most of them at the other side of the ocean, in America; or even in space. My own grand-uncle had a terrifying encounter with one, who killed the rest of his platoon like some kind of avenging angel.”

“What?” Shinji was instantly awake, paying attention. The old teacher kept talking.

“I myself saw one of them.” He went on. “I was visiting my cousin, in the old Tokyo; before it was destroyed, of course, beautiful city... Anyway, another city had just been destroyed by a living storm and a living tsunami, and they came to Tokyo to destroy it too. But we got very lucky that day. A man plant turned itself into a dome over the whole city. It was a sight to last to the very end of my days. He protected us all.”

The old man looked into the distance, lost in his memories.

“I don’t know what he was doing there, but I thank the heavens. For him and the man of fire, who when the sky and the sea calmed down, burned the dome, it was the finest ash you could imagine. It became dust in a few minutes. Then he told us to be kinder to the world, and left.”

He paused, while Shinji hurriedly took notes.

“We must never forget the help Aquaman and Tempest gave us years later. They were near Japan when Second Impact hit. Thanks to them, the death toll was much lower than it could have been, Aquaman’s sea friends helped many people to come back to shore after the tsunami had dragged them into open sea. And Tempest held back the tsunami itself. The cost for both of them was very high. To honor their heroism, I haven’t eaten a single fish since then...”

The bell rang then. The other students finally awoke, and began to get their stuff to go home. Hikari directed the daily ceremony, barking “Stand! Bow! Dismissed!”

Shinji hesitated between walking Ayanami home, as he had started to do since his talk with the Stranger, or ask the sensei for more information. He decided on the latter.

“Um... Sensei...”

The old teacher looked at him, surprised. Ikari was a generally apathetic student.

“Sensei, do... do you have any books about those people with powers?” The young man spoke in a soft, but very curious voice.

“No, I had a few, but I lost them when old Tokyo...” Shinji seemed to deflate even more than usual.

“But I remember the titles. Maybe you can find them at a library or book shop.”

Shinji beamed. “Thank you, sensei.” The boy bowed deeply.

“Take note.” And he gave him several titles. Shinji thanked him again, and ran out to catch up with Ayanami.

* * *

**_Tokyo-3_ **

That weekend, Shinji hit paydirt. He found two of the books. One was a children book, about the Justice League of America, written by a reporter, Lois Lane. It was full of colorful stories, frankly unbelievable. The other book was the autobiography of a scientist, Dr. Thomas Thirteen, nicknamed “The Ghost-Breaker”, denouncing the shams and frauds committed by a series of supposed wizards and sorcerers. Despite its hostile tone, this book was the better of his two findings.

One of the latter chapters was a detailed account of Thirteen’s frustrating encounters with a charlatan who only answered to the alias “Phantom Stranger”. That man, according to Thirteen’s description, couldn’t be anybody else but the mysterious man who had shown him NERV and SEELE’s hidden story.

Thirteen’s book had only a few pictures, and the Phantom Stranger wasn’t in any of them. However, in the first book, a picture of the JLA during the so-called Satellite Age, had an astonishing reflection on a trophy case. It was the Stranger’s silhouette.

And the roster of the JLA listed him as an honorary member.

So, he hadn’t dreamed about his encounter.

* * *

 **_Tokyo-3 First Municipal Junior High School  
_ ** **_Next Monday_ **

"Sensei, what happened to the metahumans?”

“No one is completely sure, Ikari-kun, Most disappeared during Second Impact, maybe they died then. Others were still active during the Post-Impact Wars; by the time the UN declared world peace, there was none left. Some say they all died, others say they are still among us, awaiting for some signal to return. Others say they abandoned us. Others believe they ascended to the heavens, and still protect us from invaders from others worlds. I think it’s a bit of everything. ”

“Thank you, Sensei.” Shinji bowed goodbye. The old teacher’s memories of the Second Heroic Age were as rambling as the ones from pre-Second-Impact life. Just knowing not all heroes had needed powers to make a difference encouraged him to do his best. Misato had enrolled him in combat classes at NERV, and he, remembering Green Arrow’s prowess, went at them with every fiber of his being.

* * *

**_The Second Heroic Age ended in the year 2000_ **

Second Impact destroyed completely the delicate equilibrium existing between heroes and villains. The tsunami caused by the Antarctic ice being vaporized ended the lives of many metahumans who tried to fight it while saving as many lives as possible.

Most members of the JLA, JSA, and the Titans sacrificed themselves then.

The villains were not directly affected by the catastrophe, but their own selfish natures caused turf wars among them. They culled their own numbers fighting for power, money and resources.

The magical community was hit in a different way, most of the planet’s magic was channeled through the ley lines that crisscrossed the planet like mystical arteries and veins. The destruction of a whole continent, and the change on the axis of the planet destroyed or displaced many ley lines, and changed the effects of others.

Ra’s al Ghul was extatic. The death of half the world’s population fit perfectly in his plans to create a new paradise. He was about to cause a second catastrophe to kill half the survivors but Batman and his allies stopped him, at the cost of most their lives. Ra’s al Ghul died too. But the attempt of his last few followers to resuscitate him in a Lazarus Pit ended his threat forever. The energies of the pit had been altered by Second Impact, and instead of infusing his body with new life, the pit consumed him and exploded afterwards.

The only survivor was Dick Grayson, but his career as Nighwing was ended by his injuries. He still fought to the best of his capacity, now as the heir and successor of Bruce Wayne. His still sharp mind directed resources to where they were most needed. With the help of Oracle, he became Delphos; a new computer wizard.

* * *

**_In a place that’s not a place  
Deep Under the Surface of the World_ **

Here lies Maya, the spirit of the Earth, the very soul of the planet. She was terribly hurt during Second Impact, her wounds caused by human ambition. Around her, her children and avatars, the Elementals, care for their wounded mother.

Swamp Thing, the Earth Elemental, reduced in size and power by the destruction of most the Amazon Rain Forest. He is the last survivor of the Parliament of Trees, and carries their memories within him. With them, he still carries the memories of the man who was his template, Dr. Alec Holland.

Firestorm, the Fire Elemental, who came back to the planet of his birth. Now again a composite being, made from Professor Martin Stein, and his friend and partner, jock Ronnie Raymond.

Red Tornado; actually, Tornado Champion. A creature made of living wind, born in another planet. For years, the mind and sentience of an android created to destroy heroes, but that became a hero by his own right; and even adopted a human identity, John Smith, to understand and fit better in the human world. His human life weighted heavily on him, he missed his very human family.

Naiad, the Water Elemental. Mai Miyazaki during her original human life, an ecological activist, murdered in fire. By far, the most violent elemental; her power even more reduced than Swamp Thing’s, on account of the Dead Zone that poisoned the South Pole.

All four elementals have tied their own life forces to Maya’s, trying to restore her. This wouldn’t work normally, as their own essences are part of Maya’s, but they draw strength from a gathering of paraelementals, like Poison Ivy, Solomon Grundy, or even Killer Frost; all of whom know they can’t survive without Maya. The process is long and difficult, without any guarantee of success.

They aren’t the only ones; most mystic entities who walked the Earth at the time of Second Impact are here. Zatanna Zatara, Dr. Fate, the wizard Shazam, Dr. Mist, and many others, spin their spells trying to cure Mother Earth.

Some, like the Spectre, are mysteriously absent. Others, like the Phantom Stranger or Madame Xanadu, work in the mortal’s world, to stop another apocalypse. One that, should it happen, would mean the death of the entire planet.

About others, like Etrigan, better not to remember, at least for now. The Demon resented any attempt to ask for his help.

The Hellblazer... John Constantine was best kept very far from Maya. It was an unspoken agreement. He was better employed controlling or destroying minor mystical threats.

* * *

**_Tokyo-3_ **

The Second Heroic Age became a minor obsession for Shinji. Any chance he had, he toured the used book stores in Tokyo-3, looking for any scrap of info about the metahumans. Sometimes alone, but usually accompanied by Toji, Kensuke, Rei, or Hikari.

Soon, he had a big collection of books and magazines. In some cases, in other languages. During his training sessions, their example was enough to galvanize him to greater efforts.

He was especially fascinated by the Bat-Family. More than once, he dreamt of being a Robin. Never Batman. The sour expression on the Dark Knight’s face made him feel insignificant. Subconsciously, the Batman reminded him of the Commander. He never thought that the Batman would have been deeply offended by such comparison.

But the most scarce info, was about wizards and sorcerors, especially, the Phantom Stranger. It was as if the man was a shadow, or smoke.

* * *

 **_Tokyo-3_ ** **Katsuragi/Ikari Apartment**

“Um... Misato? If Rei is the First Child and I’m the Third, who is the Second?”

Before answering, Misato poured even more instant curry over her instant soup. At the sight, Shinji’s tastebuds tried to hide themselves inside his tongue. Sadly, that night was Misato’s turn to cook.

“Ah! Much better!” Misato inhaled deeply from the steam rising from her soup. “Sure you don’t want some? It’s delicious!”

“Um... No, Misato, Thanks. I don’t think I could handle it.” Shinji resigned himself to his own bowl of instant soup, accompanied by a simple salad he had prepared beforehand, to at least compensate a bit for all the chemicals in their instant meal.

Shinji was perfectly aware of who was the Second Child. His trip with the Phantom Stranger had been very informative. But he wanted to hear about it from Misato herself. Maybe he could get some recent info, know a bit more about his future co-worker, know her character before actually meeting, and prepare himself for her arrival. Knowing they both shared some common problem was... well, _encouraging_ was not the right word, but he thought they might click.

“Could you tell me something about him?” he insisted, adding a bit of misdirection.

“OK, for starters, the Second Child is a girl.” Misato answered, between sips of soup and beer. “I was her guardian for a while, back in Germany, before coming to Tokyo-3.”

“She’s German?”

“Not exactly, she’s actually American, raised in Germany; she’s a bit younger than you. And she has been training to pilot since she was a little girl.”

“How is she?” Shinji was really interested.

“What? You want _another_ girlfriend? Rei is not enough for you, Casanova?” Misato smiled from behind her bowl. Inevitably, Shinji’s face was red as a tomato.

"Mi-Misato!"

She answered with a laugh. “You’ll meet her very soon. She and her Evangelion, Unit-02 should be on their way here very soon. The trip is very long, they have to cross the whole of Europe.”

“I didn’t imagine it would be such a long trip...”

Misato winked. “You better be ready for her. Asuka is veeeery competitive, and will try to knock you down to second place as soon as she arrives.”

“Ah.” Shinji looked down. He hadn’t expected that, altough he probably should have. ”Well, I actually don’t care much about who’s number one, as long as we make a good team.”

It was Misato’s turn to be surprised. She had not expected that from Shinji. The boy had adopted a leadership attitude towards Rei after the battle against Shamshel. The two days of lock-up had done a world of good to him, he had matured a lot. He had trained and studied with great enthusiasm ever since. Not only at NERV and with Unit-01; also in his classes at school and in his classes of martial arts. He had even developed some muscles. He was still skinny, but his muscles had started to look defined. But the most surprising change had been his social life. He actually had one! His phone rang, not all the time; but at least a couple calls everyday.

“Don’t you think language might be a problem?”

Whoah! It seems the kid is thinking ahead. “No, Asuka speaks several languages; her japanese is perfect, although she still has some German accent.”

"Hmm... Then I think I should learn some German, don’t you think?

Misato choked on her noodles. After clearing her throat (and wiping a couple of tears, caused by the curry up her nose), she asked, “Why do you want to learn German?”

“Courtesy? If I had to go to work at another country, I would like to speak my native tongue with someone.”

Misato remembered how alone she had felt those first few days at Germany, and conceded the point. “Very well, but I think you’re trying too hard.”

“How about I look for a self-taught course. We could practice during the evenings. You do speak German, right?”

Misato nodded appreciatively. ‘ _Yep, he **is** thinking ahead_.’

* * *

* * *

**_Author Notes_ **

The events in Old Tokyo, as narrated by Shinji´s sensei, were published as _The Elemental War;_ a 4 issues saga in Firestorm, written by John Ostrander and illustrated by Tom Mandrake. I highly recommend their work in DC. Their run in The Spectre was so good, DC hasn´t managed to get anywhere near that high bar. BTW, the avenging angel who killed the platoon the grand-uncle of the sensei was with? That was ol´ Moonface himself, the Spectre, back in WWII.

Most non-EVA related events I reference in the story are, or were, canon in the DCU. Basically, if it happened before the year 2000, I left it as it was implied in the timeline published in Zero Hour (1994). There will be a few events that I´m modifying for my purposes, but I will post notes about them when necessary.

Unless the notes could be spoilers, of course.


	3. Thunder

**NERV's Base  
** **3rd Surgical Wing**

Shinji Ikari awoke, feeling a residual pain on his chest. Carefully, he touched the skin, discovering with relief he wasn't actually burnt. Even so, everything hurt.

He lied back down on the bed. 'What did that Angel hit me with? I had never felt so much pain.'

'At least we're still alive...' He took a few seconds to get his bearings. Once more, he was in the Geo-Front's Hospital, he recognized the design of the rooms. There was a bit of ambient noise, the normal level he would expect. Far away, he heard the squeek of a wheel. Probably a cart with medical stuff...

The door opened. Rei Ayanami entered the room, pushing a cart. There was a covered tray on it.

"Hi, Ayanami. What happened?" He sat up, moving carefully.

Rei put the tray on the moving table. "The Angel attacked EVA-01 with a high energy emission, causing grave damages to the chest armor, and raising the LCL temperature in the Entry Plug. You lost consciousness; Unit-01 suffered damages to its armor, and is being repaired down at the cages."

The young pilot uncovered the tray. Good news, it was food. Bad news, quite a good chunk of it was irrecognizable. Except for a fried egg and a piece of bread, the rest was a set of paste blocks; the only difference was the color.

Shinji was about to push away the table, when he noticed the tiny gesture of impatience on his coleague's (and in a way, sister) face.

"I'm here to brief you on the timetable for Operation Yashima. It will begin at 00:00 hours."

'Oh, crap...' Shinji's tiny hopes that the Angel had been neutralized while he was out crashed down. Rei sat on the chair next to the bed, and pulled a little book from her skirt pocket. She passed several pages until she found what she looked for. She read a series of times and events.

To be brief, a double operation. Him as sniper, Rei as defense, with a shield to protect him. Rei got a plastic bag from a side compartment of the cart, and threw it over Shinji's legs. "Oh, yes, your new plug suit, and don't show up like that."

It took Shinji a few seconds to realize what she had meant. Suddenly, he noticed that under the sheets, he was completely naked. He covered himself quickly. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize..."

Rei didn't seem to care. "Your food."

Shinji took a moment to think. On one hand, he wasn't hungry; on the other, he wouldn't let Rei face the Angel alone, and that would be several hours later. Hesitantly, he bit the bread. "I don't really want to do it, Rei." An expression of disgust flashed on her face, she took breath.

Shinji cut her off. "But I won't leave you alone," he exclamed firmly. Rei stared at him for a little while, and watched him eat for almost half a minute. Satisfied, she pushed the cart away. "I must go, Dr. Akagi and Captain Katsuragi are waiting for me at the base. We must leave in an hour. Goodbye."

Alone again, Shinji whispered, before attacking the food, "No. I won't leave you alone."

* * *

At dusk, a small group of student had gathered on the school's roof, cheering the Evangelions as they appeared, from a hidden door at the side of the mountain.

From the EVA-01's cockpit, Shinji saw them on the roof, he smiled at seeing Toji and Kensuke on the first line of the gathering.

"Hey, it's looking this way!" Unit-01 had turned its head a bit. It seemed to be looking at them. A little nod from the giant detonated a new round of cheers. The huge robot pointed at the door of a near-by refuge. The students got the hint.

Toji and Kensuke were the last to get down, still pumping their fists on the air.

* * *

**Mount Futago  
NERV's Temporal Base**

Carefully, EVA-01 set down the positron rifle prototype. "This thing wasn't built for field operations, Dr. Akagi. Will it work?"

"We have no other alternative. We don't even know if it will hold on under stress. It's the first time it's used with such an amount of energy."

The last details of the plan were set. Shinji would be the sniper, Rei the defender. Shinji had a better synch score than Rei, so he would be a better choice. An extra problem was that the beam would be affected by a whole series of factors; gravity, planetary rotation, magnetic fields... Even so, he had to hit the core on the first shot.

At least, he would have a visual guidance system on. All he had to do was center the markers on the target, and pull the trigger. The aiming system would be managed by the MAGI. If a second shot was needed, he had to wait until the weapon's temperature went down, and change the fuses in the meanwhile.

At least the fuse changing itself would be simple. Almost like reloading a shotgun. Shinji asked a guard to show him how to do it.

* * *

The darkness was almost total. Only NERV's portable generators provided light at a tiny part of the country. The electricity from all Japan was channeled into titanic capacitators, holding the millions of kilowatts to be used in a single discharge.

From their two high platforms, Shinji and Rei watched as the last touches were finished, waiting for the moment to board their EVAs.

Shinji looked at his partner. "Could I ask you something?" Rei stared back in silence, waiting for the question. "Why do you pilot EVA?"

"I'm bonded to it."

"What do you mean?"

"It's a bond."

"A bond to whom?"

"To everybody."

"Me too?"

Surprised, Rei blinked twice. "Yes. You too. That bond is everything I have."

Shinji sighed. "No. It's not the only one. You have a bond to people through the EVA, but you have bonds to people without it."

Rei opened her eyes, staring at him. Shinji continued. "We met because of the EVAs, but we know each other without them. We have met in person. That is a bond that doesn't need EVAs to exist."

An alarm buzzed in the plugsuit controls at their wrists. Rei got up first. "It's time. We must go. Goodbye, Shinji Ikari." She stepped in her Entry Plug.

* * *

Over the Geo-Front, Ramiel still drilled. Soon, the last armored layer would be penetrated.

* * *

From all over Japan, millions of kilowatts were routed to NERV's temporal quarters. As the black-out expanded, towns, cities and whole prefectures plunged into darkness. From space, it almost looked like darkness was devouring the country.

* * *

Nervously, Shinji loaded the rifle, waiting for the order to shoot. Behind him, scores of machines he couldn't even guess their workings, buzzed and crackled, full of electric energy.

A screen over Shinji's face showed an image of Ramiel, floating serenely over the Geo-Front, drilling its way in. A triangle and a three points star shape danced on the screen, trying to converge over the target. Once they did, Shinji would shoot, and hopefully, destroy the Angel.

For a moment, the image on the screen covering Shinji's eyes dissolved into static snow. He almost hit it to try to recover the image. But the random pixels soon resolved into a shadow. A fragmentary silhouette. The silhouette of a man with a high collared cloak and a fedora.

_The Phantom Stranger._

Surprised, Shinji inhaled a longful of LCL. A far away voice whispered, "The Angel's shot will ruin yours. _Wait_."

The screen went back to normal. Dots of light danced on Ramiel's borders. From the mobile HQ, Makoto Hyuga started a countdown. He was on 6 when Maya almost yelled, "Rising energy levels on the target!"

Shinji reacted, "Rei! Cover me!"

Rei obeyed immediately. Unit-00 jumped in front of Unit-01. A tremendous heat enveloped them. The light almost blinding them. A huge shockwave rocked the mobile HQ. Misato was the first one to recover. "Did we fail?" The energy from Ramiel's shot dissipated. Unit-00's shield had resisted for almost 15 seconds under the heat and energy. It smoked, and was starting to melt. But still held on.

Ramiel's discharge of energy stopped, it would need a few seconds to shoot again.

Makoto shouted, "The enemy has penetrated into the Geo-Front!"

Maya added "Energy rising in the target!"

"Shinji! Shoot!" Misato yelled through the comm.

Before Ramiel had the chance of a second shot, the targeting markers finally joined with each other. Shinji and Unit-01 pulled the trigger.

The positron beam hit exactly at the center of Ramiel's core, a firestorm exploded from the exit hole. The crystaline prism fell slowly over the city. The drill broke, and remained hanging from the Geo-Front's ceiling.

* * *

At Mount Futago, Unit-00 fell on its knees, dropping the half-melted shield. Around it, an expansive part of the woods had been either vaporized by the heat, or unrooted by the shockwave.

"Ayanami!"

The answer was slow coming, and painfully hesitant. "I'm... fine..." but the EVA fell down on its face.

Unit-01 ripped off the hatch on its partner's back. Carefully, it extracted the Entry Plug.

A few moments later, Shinji opened the emergency hatch, unknowingly mimicking Rei Ayanami's rescue by the Commander, a month or so before. However, the insulated gloves of his plugsuit protected his hands from the heat. Still, the LCL over them vaporized on contact with the scalding handles of the emergency hatch.

Desperately, he peeked into the plug. "Rei! Rei! Are you alright?"

The pilot had fainted for a few seconds. Her skin had a sickly gray tinge. Moaning, she raised her head. Her eyes focused slowly on him.

Shinji held her hand in his, smiling, but two tears shone on his eyes. "Please, never say goodbye before a sortie. It's like you don't expect to come back. It's sad."

"Is that why you are crying?"

Shinji wiped his tears. "No. Its because we're alive. And you are okay."

"I'm sorry. I'm confused; I really don't know what to say or do."

"I... I think smiling would be fine. Rei."

Surprised, the bluenette stared at Shinji's eyes, noting how alike his features and Commander Ikari's were. And just how different their expressions were.

A tiny smile appeared on her lips.

Shinji helped her to get out the plug. Ayanami felt dizzy and stumbled.

Shinji's reflexes kicked in, stopping her fall, and his catching her became, without neither knew exactly when, a hug.

They stayed like that, sitting, hugging each other, until the recovery team found them.

* * *

**Geo-Front**   
**Commander´s Lair**

"Your attitude intrigues me, Ikari."

The Commander steepled his hands in fron of his face. A disgusting smile appeared on his lips.

"Manipulating the Third Child will be easier than it was foreseen. He starts to show a bond to EVA-01 and Rei."

"Don't you think a relationship between them will cause problems later?"

"Doubtful. Rei knows her purpose, and won't deviate from it."

Fujutsuki thought of answering. But he kept his council. They kept playing in silence.

* * *

 Neither realized invisible eyes watched them.


	4. Interludes After the 5th Angel

**Interludes After the Fifth Angel**

* * *

 

**_Note_ ** _, the parenthesis indicate languages other than Japanese, in this case, English and German._

* * *

 

**_NERV Berlin  
Staff Quarters_ **

"(Kaji? Who is this Shinji Ikari and why I just got a letter from him?)" Idly, Asuka Langley Soryu examined the envelope she had just received, along with her many packages containing shampoo and other beauty products

"(Haven’t you read the bulletins? Ikari is the Third Child, and he has several angels to his credit; two in solo missions and one with the First Child.)"

"(Pfft! Beginner’s luck, there is no way he could keep up with me. As soon as I arrive to Japan, he will be left behind, watching my dust!)"

Ryoji Kaji was already used to the young pilot’s ego. "(Don’t be so cocky, Asuka. The kid has talent.)"

"(Bah!)" A single wrist movement dismissed the Third Child’s achievements.

"(Ikari reached a synch rate of over 40% in his first time in an Evangelion. And his current score is getting close to 50%.)"

"(Meh. Impressive starting synch, but a very slow progress, don't you think? If it has taken him ten years for that bit of improvement, NERV Japan must be desperate for pilots.)", while Kaji checked his own mail, Asuka poured herself a cup of coffe.

"(Desperate is the right word. The day Ikari arrives to NERV, the Third Angel attacks, and the First Child is incapacitated to pilot. That first score is from his _first battle_ , without a plugsuit; that was about eleven weeks ago. And remember, that was also _his first time_ in an EVA.)"

Asuka choked on her coffee, it took her a while to stop coughing.

"(E-eleven… eleven weeks? Ten percentile points in barely eleven weeks? God…)" Asuka ran back to her room, slamming the door closed. Kaji opened another envelope. It would be useless to try to talk to her until she calmed down.

Asuka sat in front of her desk, and stabbed the envelope as if it was her arch-nemesis.

She emptied the envelope over the desk. It contained a letter and some pictures. The pics showed Misato Katsuragi, her previous keeper, and two teens about her own age, surely the First and Third Children. Hmm… not much to look at, a skinny kid with sad eyes, and an… albino? girl, with an inexpressive face. Hmm… she surely dyed her hair; but, blue? What a weirdo. Wait a moment… was that a… penguin? It looked like.

She put the pictures aside, and unfolded the letter; it was handwritten, carefully and clumsily. And the German was just as careful and clumsy.

"(Miss Soryu:

I hope you won’t think it’s too bold from me to write you this letter, my name is Shinji Ikari (Third Child). Misato has told me wonders about you and your work at NERV Berlin. I hope to meet you soon. I trust we will make a good team. Currently, NERV Japan only has two pilots, and we are not as well trained as you. I’m certain we will learn a lot from your example.

As surely you can tell, I’m only starting to learn German, Misato helped me to write this letter. I hope to have improved a little bit by the time I can meet you in person.

Could you tell me a little about you?

I’m enclosing a few pictures of our little operations group, Misato, Rei Ayanami (First Child), and yours truly; plus Misato’s pet penguin, his name is Pen-Pen.

Respectfully,

Shinji Ikari.)"

Asuka drummed her fingers on the desk. It was certainly not what she had expected. She had thought Ikari would be a boorish show-off, but the tone of the letter was quite the contrary. And Misato had no patience for fools, so he must have some quality that just didn’t show in a picture.

Wait a minute, there were two sheets inside the envelope. She recognized Misato’s scrawlings on the second sheet.

"(Hey, Asuka!

Shinji is really eager to meet you. As soon as I told him about you, he started to learn German; I think he wants to make a good first impression when you get to Japan. Do me a favor and write him a letter soon, will you? You can take the chance to practice your Japanese before arriving here. Send him a pic too, I want to see him turn beet red! He’s charmingly shy, especially around pretty girls. I bet you can blow his mind!

Ah, just between us, Shinji has a somewhat curious hobby, he collects info about metahumans, the ones from before Second Impact. He’s too considerate to ask you for something in a first letter, but I’m sure he would love to know something about german metahumans. I would consider it a personal favor if you could get him something.

See you soon!

Misato K.)"

Well... Asuka though for a while. The Third Child seems to know his place in the social totem; and, at least in a letter, he seemed sensible enough. Not as much as Kaji, of course, but that was a very high bar. And, if Misato was right, she could have a lot of fun playing with him.

In a much better mood, she put the letters and pics back into the envelope, and went back out to the kitchen to finish her breakfast.

Kaji was a bit surprised, he thought his young ward would be in a bad mood for the rest of the day, but she seemed strangely serene.

He turned a page of his paper, and waited. He wasn’t really interested in the cultural section, but trying to get Asuka to talk before she was good and ready was like trying to get water from a stone. It needed special tools, a lot of effort, and had no guarantees of success.

Finally, as Asuka poured herself another cup of coffee, the question arrived.

"(Kaji? Exactly what is a metahuman?)"

_‘Not what I was expecting...’_ He thought.

* * *

**_December the 16th, 2008  
Spiritual Plane_ **

For once in his existence, the ghostly acrobat was in no mood for his own eccentricities. No acrobacies, no sitting in improbable places, not even floating sideways.

No, not this time.

Since his death, Boston Brand had witnessed a lot of suffering. Murders, illness, accidents, wars. Thanks to the now absent Rama Kushna, he had been able to intervene and save scores of persons from death.

Even during the apocalyptic catastrophe of Second Impact he had been able to save lifes. Not as many as he would have liked, but that was part of the job, and he thought he had resigned himself to that.

He had made peace with the knowledge that, not only he had been unable to save more people, also that many of his friends had fought to save lifes. That they had lost the battle, and their lives. He had escorted a few to the Great Beyond. Those few were too many in his opinion.

After all, an apocalypsis caused by a little meteor moving at 10% light speed? Who could stop something like that?

Sure, there were a few heroes physically able to stop, destroy, or push an asteroid away, but not at that speed.

Deadman though he knew fury. At the beginning of his ghostly existence, he had been angry half of the time, over how unjust his death had been; and later, for the lives lost because of his mistakes and temper tantrums.

Tantrums. Yes, that was the anger of a child, compared to the rage now burning in his heart.

A little investigation on a murder had turned out to be the start of a tangled web of crimes like he had never imagined. Following the tracks had taken him months of spying and following a great number of agents from a secret organization that made the late, unmourned Kobra cult seem like a reunion of upstanding, mild-mannered citizens.

_SEELE_.

They had gotten away with murdering half of the planet, including most metahumans.

Patiently, Deadman had followed tracks, discovered drop points, observed agents, listening to conversations. However, SEELE’s leaders were frustratingly elusive. He could find no way to get to them, not even to get actually close.

At a certain point, he crashed against an unexpected barrier. An idiomatic barrier. It took him months of intensive study to learn enough French, German and Japanese to follow clues all over Europe and Asia. More than once, the track went cold, only to show up again in the most unexpected places.

Finally, the tracks guided him to Tokyo-3, where he found to his horror, that Second Impact had merely been, as they said in the circus, the sideshow.

The true three ring circus wasn’t even completely installed.

The Angels were coming.

After the Angels, Third Impact.

And after that, no more Mankind.

He had been lucky to find one of the ringmasters of this particular evil circus, Gendo Ikari. After watching him discuss his plans with his top flunky, Deadman was sure he had gotten right to where things would get interesting. Aparently, the Angels would come to Tokyo-3, eventually.

And even better, Ikari was in contact with the leaders of SEELE. It was through holograms, but at least now he was getting first-hand info about SEELE’s plans, instead of trying to make sense of bits and pieces.

"Boston, old friend;" he whispered to himself, "you’re gonna need help with this. Man, at moments like this, I really miss the old bat."

Quickly, he ran through a too short list on his head, trying to decide exactly to whom he could ask for help. "Well, I think I’ll have to go to a higher instance."

One after another, he crossed dimensional barriers, until he found the best candidate he could think of. He certainly wasn’t the most comfortable guy to work with, his manias for secrets and mysteries were terribly inconvenient, but if you needed someone to stop the end of the world, the Phantom Stranger was your man.

The Stranger seemed to be, to human eyes, standing in the black void of eternity, watching intently what seemed to be a remarcable copy of the Earth. Appearances were deceiving. That was no copy. It wasn’t the original either. It was... something like a mystical image of the world.

Deadman cleared his throat, metaphorically at least. Surprising the Phantom Stranger in his turf could be incredibly risky. "Hum… Stranger?"

The shadowy figure raised his head, taking a moment from his unending watch over the world. "Deadman." And tipped his hat at the ghost. He went back to his vigilance.

"Erm… I don’t want to interrupt… but we have a very big problem."

"I’m listening."

* * *

**_GeoFront  
Evangelion Unit-01’s Cage_ **

“OK, Shinji, let’s start with the synch test. On my mark, count down from forty, OK?”

“Understood, Doctor Akagi.”

“Start the countdown, mark.”

“Forty, thirty nine, thirty eight…”

He had done so many synch tests the countdown was now a natural part of the process. Technically, it wasn’t even necessary, but it helped him to concentrate.

Shinji got comfortable on the plug’s seat, and tried to relax. At the count of five, he was quite at ease. His heartbeat and breathing were slower than usual, but it was due to the oxygenated LCL, his body didn’t need to work so hard.

“Zero.”

“Perfect, stay relaxed and we’ll finish soon. Your starting score is 48.3%. Not bad. Try to imagine yourself as the EVA.”

“Yes, Doctor Akagi.”

Shinji obeyed. Mentally, he sighed, and readied himself for a couple of really boring hours. As he used to do in these cases, he started to remember what he knew about the heroes from the Second Heroic Age, his personal heroes. He knew many of them had a scientific background, like the Atom, one of the few heroes to reveal his identity, Dr. Ray Palmer, a great physicist. (Shinji had ordered his autobiography at a bookstore, but it would be a while until it arrived, the japanese translation had a short print run).

Physics was one of the hardest school subjects for Shinji, it was too rigid for his tastes.

Shinji smiled; the Atom had created his own powers, and learned to use them with amazing skill. At first sight, a six inches high man was insignificant, but Ray Palmer had a great intelligence , plus an astounding capacity for analysis and improvisation. All that was a great help during his heroic career. In fact, he was so good he was one of the most active members of the Justice League of America.

He wondered what could have Ray Palmer done, had he been in NERV’s Science Section. He might…

He might have found a way to rescue Yui Ikari from her prison in the EVA’s core.

“Shinji, try to fix that mental pattern, you went up almost 0.6% for a second.”

“I’ll try, Doctor.”

Shinji’s thoughts kept spinning around. The image of his mother, about to enter the plug came back to his mind. Immediately, he felt a deep sadness.

“No, Shinji, there’s something wrong, you went down 0.4%. Go back.”

“Mom…”, he thought “Why did you had to do it..?”

A warm feeling surrounded him. Not a physical sensation. More of an emotional warmth.

“That’s it, you’re climbing again. Try to keep it like that.”

Shinji nodded. Of course he would try. He closed his eyes and he thought he had felt a familiar fragrance. A perfume… it was a comforting smell, even amidst the metallic smell of blood the LCL had.

A memory surged to the front of his thoughts. A rainy day, he was jumping from a puddle to another, splashing the water as far away as he could. His mother was calling him, she put a small blue raincoat on him… and then he was back to jumping in the puddles. He remembered he had been so happy… just splashing water all around him.

He thought he had heard a voice calling his name. “Mom?”

A feeling answered, had he put it to words, the feeling said, “Here I am, Shinji, I am here.”

“…Mom…”

It was a small moment stretched into eternity. Doctor Akagi’s voice jarred him out of his memories. “Very good job, Shinji. You rose almost 0.8%, compared to the last synch test. And you kept it stable for almost an hour and a half. You looked like you were in trance.”

Slowly, Shinji blinked, an hour and a half? Had he really talked to his mother? Or had it been simply a dream? Everything had seemed so real…

“I think I fell asleep.”

This time, it was Maya who answered. “No, Shinji, I was monitoring your brainwaves. You weren’t sleeping. Just very, very relaxed. Almost like REM state, but completely conscious. I wish you could teach me to do that, some days I can barely sleep.”

“I… I don’t know what I did, Lieutenant Ibuki…”

“Ah, don’t worry.” Shinji almost could hear Maya’s smile; “But if you find out, please tell me.”

“I will.”

“Enough talk, kids. Shinji, you can get out, go to the showers; it’s all for today. Maya and I will analyse your results.”

On his way to the showers, Shinji was lost in his thoughts. He had, in a way, spoken to his mother again, not with words, but with feelings...

Could there be a way to really speak to her?

* * *

**_Tokyo-3  
General Hospital_ **

“You don’t have to do this, Shinji. I can take care of everything. You are not obligated or anything like that.”

“I know, but I wanna do it. I should have come before, but frankly… I was scared…”

“Well, I get that; and I really appreciate you coming.”

Shinji nodded. “Thanks. I just hope she’s not angry with me…”

“Pfft! After the way she got on my case when she got word… nah, she’s not angry.”

Both stopped in front of the door of a room at Tokyo-3’s General Hospital. Toji knocked softly at the door. “Sakura? You ready? Time to go to your therapy.”

“Come in!”

“I have a friend with me, he wants to say hi.”

“Is he handsome?”

Shinji blushed a bit. “Sure she’s only eight?”

“Eight going into twenty, bro.”

Toji opened the door, Sakura was already on her wheelchair, with the heavy harnesses that held her legs.

“Little sister, this is my friend, Shinji Ikari.” Toji gestured towards his friend.

The young pilot bowed deeply. “Good afternoon, Miss Suzuhara.”

The girl’s face brightened at hearing the name.

“You’re the pilot!” she was so excited she was almost jumping in the wheelchair. “You have to tell me how did you finished that monster! We couldn’t see that.”

Toji rolled his eyes. Without further comments, he went behind the chair and as he pushed, he mouthed a silent “Tol’ja so!” at Shinji.

“First, your therapy, squirt; Shinji will tell you everything once we finish your exercises.”

Sakura pouted, but didn’t argue the point beyond sticking her tongue at Toji. “Ok, brother.”

For the next two hours, Shinji and Toji helped Sakura with the exercises she needed for her rehab.

And as promised, aftwerwards, Shinji had to tell the story of how the battle with Sachiel had ended. He had to fill a few holes in the story with what he had seen later, in the debriefing. And left out quite a few things.

* * *

**_NERV Berlin  
Staff Quarters_ **

Asuka finished closing (forcefully) her last suitcase. She had packed an abundant amount of clothes, especially compared to the single suitcase Rioji Kaji had packed. And that was certainly not counting the many, many boxes which contained the rest of her stuff (mostly, more clothes and shoes), already sent for delivery in Tokyo-3; first to a warehouse, and after she had arrived, to her new domicile. In just a few more hours, both would get the order to travel to Japan, alongside Unit-02; and she was impatient to get to where the action was, and prove, once and for all, who was the top Evangelion pilot in history.

“(The mail, Asuka)”, Kaji’s voice flooded the apartment. The young pilot ran out of her room. And practically snatched the lot of envelopes from Kaji’s hand.

“(…Catalog… coupons… I may already be a winner… Ah! Here it is!)”, she threw the rest to the kitchen table.

“(Letter from Ikari?)” Kaji was already sitting, and about to open his own mail.

“(And Misato’s!)”, hearing this, Kaji raised his eyes from his envelope.

“(Misato? Misato Katsuragi?)”

Asuka frowned at hearing Kaji’s tone- “(Yes… she was my guardian before you, and now is the Third Child’s guardian. Do you know her?)”

Kaji recognized the jealous tone in the redheaded pilot’s voice.

He disimuled his thought by sipping his coffee. “(It was a long time ago.)” He shrugged and left it at that.

Somewhat satisfied, Asuka went to her, now practically bare, room.

Kaji smiled to himself. Asuka was extremely direct. Still, leaving aside the age gap, Asuka was too volatile for his taste, even compared to Misato. If Asuka got along well with the younger Ikari, maybe she would leave him in peace. He crossed his fingers for a moment. He lighted a cigarette, looking pensatively at the flame for a second. He closed the lighter with a quick wrist movement.

Sitting at her desk, Asuka attacked Ikari’s envelope first. It contained a letter and a few pics.

“(Miss Soryu:

Thank you very much for the magazines! I only had a very small mention about the Wild Huntsman, in an article about the Global Guardians, and no pictures of him. I would have liked to meet them all.

I also want to thank you for your picture. I’m sending you a few pictures of my friends at school, I think you will make friends with them too.

The pigtailed girl is Hikari Horaki, out class representative, very sensible and responsible. The tall kid in the track suit is Toji Suzuhara; a bit stubborn, but a great friend. The kid with glasses is Kensuke Aida, our resident geek; he loves anything related to war machines, especially ships (don’t let him close to your Evangelion! He would stick to it like paint. Just kidding, he would only try to videotape it.)

By the way, Misato suggested a visit to a little restaurant specialized in European food, she says their German selection is quite good. I’ll check it out as soon as I get some free time.

Your friend.

Shinji Ikari.)”

Smiling, Asuka put Ikari’s letter aside, and got the pictures out. It was a perfectly normal group of teens, clowning for the camera. Evidently, the other two kids were play-fighting with Ikari; she would have to demand a more mature behavior from the three of them, they looked like stooges.

Hmm… the Three Stooges… She smiled again as she filed that nickname in her memory; it would be fun to use. Ikari was too formal in his letters, he should try to relax a bit. At least he seemed a bit less stuffed this time.

Although, if she had to trust in the pictures, he might be somewhat fun in person. That would be interesting to find out.

She put everything back in the envelope, and opened Misato’s letter.

"(Hey, Asuka!

I knew you would cause an impact in Shinji! He really liked your picture (nice growth spurt, BTW!), and he asked me some questions about you; nothing too personal, I assure you. It seems you have an admirer here in Tokyo-3. Do me a favor and treat him nicely, he’s a good kid; I would put my life on his hands.

You really went the extra mile with the magazines, Shinji has read them several times; although he still has some problems with some words. BTW, speaking of that, He insisted on practicing German during the afternoons; from five to six pm, in this house only German is spoken. He had progressed a lot since he started; I bet in two or three years he might pass for a German-raised kid.

Just between us, you need a bit of practice with your kanji; take the opportunity! Shinji feels in debt to you, ask him to help you study. He is no teacher, but he is very kind and patient.

See you soon!

Misato.)"

Asuka drummed her fingers on the desk. Although Ikari didn’t mention it, it seemed the picture had the wanted effect. She smiled maliciously; yes, she could surely have a lot of fun playing with the Third Child.

She took a pen, and bit softly at the end. Now, she didn’t want the Third Child to get any wrong ideas, it was obvious he had a crush on her, and she would have to let him down before he made any problem. On the other hand, it was rare for her to find any people able to appreciate her as she deserved. And Ikari seemed to be one of the very few who could treat her without any envy/condescendence, so she didn’t want to alienate him. Mmm… what to do..? Ah! The perfect idea!

She went back to the kitchen, cell in hand, and as she ambushed a surprised Ryoji Kaji in a honeyed hug she took a quick selfie, taking care to show both of them in the image. “(Thanks, Kaji!)”; she took her purse, stole a couple of chocolate cookies from Kaji’s plate; and went outside, laughing. “(I’ll be back in a moment, I have to get a picture printed!)”

“(What was that?)”, her surprised guardian mumbled.

* * *

**_December the 16, 2008  
_ ** **_Quintessence´s Dimensional Plane._ **

“That’s everything I know. We have a bunch of eldritch abominations on their way here, uh... I mean to Earth; and a crazy cult of crazies who want to destroy humanity. It’s personal now; I haven’t been able to even get close to the guys in charge.” Deadman floated in the air; as usual, sitting Indian style.

The Phantom Stranger took his time before answering . “Worrying.” He went back to the Earth’s image, passing his hands over the surface, until he stopped over Japan. “Here. A nexus of fates. A powerful one. Hmm… A fog, I can’t see clearly. But there’s a clear fate. Dangerous too. Very dangerous indeed.” With a hand gesture, an image appeared; a boy, six or seven years old, looking sad. Another gesture showed more, the boy was walking alone on a street; it seemed a little town at the coast, he was dragging an old bycicle.

“That kid? Doesn’t seem like he would hurt a fly.” Deadman was intently checking the image. “You’re not gonna tell me he’s the next Vandal Savage or Ra´s al Ghul, or something like that, will you?” his index traced a couple of circles in the air.

“No, his is a gentle soul; ill-disposed for violence of any kind. However, the weight of the whole world will fall on his shoulders, breaking both him and the Earth in the Third Impact.”

“Oooh, boy!” Deadman scratched his head. “Is there anybody left who could stop those Angels?”

“The ones who _might_ have enough power are trying to save the world soul, or protecting the planet from alien invasions. They _can’t_ interrupt their efforts.” At a significant look from Deadman, the Stranger added. “Most of my own power is compromised, hiding the planet from extradimensional invaders. We will have to act subtly.”

The ghostly acrobat floated around the world. “So… what’s the plan?”

Once again, the Phantom Stranger passed his hands over the surface of the globe, looking for any visible nexus connected to the child. As he got nearer to Europe, his hands started to tremble. A chill went down Deadman’s back. Anything capable of thwarting an entity as powerful as the Phantom Stranger had to be really powerful.

The Stranger started to sweat a little. “The fog is denser here, I can barely see a…” with a tense gesture, the Stranger changed his focus, and an image was revealed. A girl, six or seven years old, wearing a tight red suit. It looked remotely like a futuristic diving suit. Her features contracted in a determined look.

The Stranger went back a step. Another hand-gesture revealed a series of red lines, joining both kids. Most were semitransparent, except for a dark red line, that looked like a thorny vine, or maybe barbwire.

“Hey, what does _that_ mean?”

“Their souls are connected. In each reincarnation, they meet again; they are destined to be together.”

“I’ve heard of legends like that. Sounds like a chick-flick.” Deadman rubbed his chin; his own experiences with love had been very painful, especially after his dead.

“There’s some truth in those legends. The best example would be the Hawks. Hawkman and Hawkgirl have been reincarnating as a couple since the Pharaohs´s times.” He paused, as if listening to a far away sound. “They are awaiting for their next reincarnation.”

“Just for a moment, you had me thinking the kids would be the next Hawks… And what about the thorns?” His face was very close to the tangled red lines. “I have the feeling that´s not exactly normal.”

“That means their souls have been intentionally damaged during this incarnation. They are not ready to meet. If they do, they will destroy each other.”

Pensatively, Deadman scratched his head again. “Back to my question… What do we do?”

For a minute, the Phantom Stranger kept silent. A minute that seemed like an eternity to Boston Brand.

“First, we must examine what you have found. As my vision has been impeded, we will have to investigate in other ways. Afterwards, we will have to observe the events. I’ll need you to go back to Tokyo-3 and keep a close watch on Commander Ikari. He is our only lead to SEELE. I’ll investigate on my own. I have to determine where, when, and how much intervene.”

“Count me in!” Boston Brand slapped his thighs, ready to do everything in his power to be the biggest, nastiest, and slippery fly in SEELE’s soup he could manage to be.

* * *

**NERV Japan  
Evangelions Cage Synch Test **

_´There they are again…´_ Shinji looked through the Evangelion´s eyes, while he waited for the shut-off sequence to begin; and permission to leave the plug. The synch test had ended a few minutes before.

On the other side of the cage, Rei Ayanami waited for her turn to enter her own plug, she was busy doing some last minute checks on the systems. A few seconds later, the Commander walked to her, smiling. Rei jumped down to meet him, a big smile on her lips. For an instant, Shinji felt the sting of jealousy, immediately extinguished by the memory of the death of the first Rei, and the maiming of her soul to power Unit-00. The time they met at the Evangelion cages was the only time he could see them acting like normal people; smiling, animated, instead of the cold masks they showed the world. No, _he really was that cold_. Rei Ayanami simply had no idea of what emotions really were. Commander Ikari had trained her well... _Trained_... The word left a sour aftertaste in Shinji´s mind.

´ _I would like to tell her…´”_ he thought, _´ I wonder what would Ayanami say if she knew I want to stop what my… what the Commander plans on doing to all of us._

A wave of emotion enveloped him. He felt betrayed, abandoned, jealous, deceived, and angry. All those emotions… he could believe they were his own. He had more than enough reasons to feel like that. But, knowing Ayanami´s story, he recognized those emotions weren´t actually his.

_´Is that you, Mom?´,_ he thought, trying to reconnect with Yui Ikari´s soul, trapped in the EVA-01´s core.

A warm feeling surrounded him. _´Listen. Mom, I don´t know if you can understand me, but it´s not Ayanami´s fault, she´s a victim too.´_

The emotional whirlwind calmed down a bit, a moment of intense curiosity. Shinji focused on the scenes the Phantom Stranger had shown him. Two new emotions appeared in the emotional maelstrom. Pity and outrage.

_´I want to save her… No one else but the Commander, and maybe Dr. Akagi know it, but Ayanami is the closest I have to a sister. She´s family too, like she was also your daughter.´_ A wave of sadness, of loss, appeared. _´I can´t do much for her right now, if the Commander suspects I know more than they have told me, he… he probably would do something terrible to me. I have seen what he´s capable of.´_ He remembered how the first Rei had died, and then put in the EVA-00.

“Shinji!! What´s going on there?!” Maya´s urgent voice jarred Shinji out of his thoughts. He heard a deep, vibrating, guttural growl, and realized it came from the EVA-01´s throat. The whole plug vibrated around him. A deep screeching noise came from the exterior. The EVA was pulling at its anchoring! It wouldn´t take much time for it to be free.

Scared, Shinji thought intensely _. “No! No, Mom!! Stop!! Leave it to me! I´m taking care of her. I will protect her.”_

Unit-01 stopped, hesitant, like waiting for something. Shinji continued. _´We will stop him. Him and SEELE. I have a friend who is helping me, but if you destroy NERV, the Angels will kill us all. I promise we will stop Third Impact. Just calm yourself, please.´_ he sent images of his friends, and of the Phantom Stranger. This last image was answered with a new emotion that drowned all others. Shinji wasn´t sure if it was curiosity, recognition, or a mix of both.

Slowly, the Evangelion calmed down. ´ _That´s it, take it easy… calm yourself…´_ The growl went gradually silent.

Quickly, he called the control box. “I-I´m sorry, Lieutenant Ibuki! I lost control for a minute. I-I-I have it back now. Everything is okay here, how are you?” Realizing he was babbling, Shinji shut up and sighed.

Maya´s relieved sigh was clearly heard. “Ok, Shinji, I think it will be best if we finish the synch test right now. I´m starting the shut-off sequence.” He barely heard Maya´s next words, before she cut off the line, “I just hope the Unit-00 incident won´t repeat…”

The emotions grew fainter and fainter, ´ _Just hold on, Mom, please_.´ The flow of emotions ended.

* * *

**_Commander ikari´s Lair  
A few hours later._ **

“Commander, here are the graphs of the synch tests.” Fujutsuki put two rolls of printing paper on Gendo´s desk.

Gendo Ikari examined the graphs, checking the timestamps. He smiled like a shark when he noticed the changes on the Third Child´s last minute of the test.

“The emotional response was as we expected. Although it took him more time than foreseen, the Third Child is jealous of the attention Rei gets from me. He will do anything to earn my approval.” Satisfied, he dropped the print-outs on the desk. “Everything proceeds according to the scenario.”

* * *

**_Commander ikari´s Lair (Spiritual Plane)  
A second later._ **

_´Everything procedes according to the escenario!´_ A cackle echoes Commander Ikari´s office. A laughter no living being could hear, but lifted Boston Brand´s soul. _´It does, but **it´s not your scenario** anymore, you big rube! We are changing the game rules and you haven´t realized it yet!´ _

From behind the only chair visible in the office, Deadman grabbed Ikari´s shoulders, like he was about to shake him, and whispered in his ear, perfectly aware he would not hear a single word. _´That kid is gonna give you the ass-kicking of the Ages! And I have the best tickets in the whole circus!´_

Ikari sat comfortably on his chair, with an ugly smile on his lips. He opened a drawer, taking a shogi board.

Fujutsuki said nothing. He just opened a hidden closet, and pulled a chair close to the desk.

´ _Man... I am so tired of watching you two play.._.´sighed an unseen ghost. ´If only you played something more exciting, like Go Fish...´

* * *

**_Tokyo-3  
Katsuragi-Ikari Apartment_ **

Shinji had picked up the mail at the mailbox on the reception of the building. As the lift went up, he started to classify the envelopes in groups. One for the bills they had to pay during the week, another for junkmail, another for Misato´s mail, and finally, his own mail. Ah! Two letters from Asuka! One for him and the other for Misato.

While he was preparing the food, he ocassionally eyed the little piles of mail on the table. Misato would take a little while to get home.

Once everything was in the right pot, cooking slowly, Shinji sat at the table. He was eager to read Asuka´s letter, but decided to do his homework first.

Misatto arrived as he was finishing the last subject. “Hello, Misato, dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes.” She sighed tiredly, but the smell of food reanimated her in a second. “Great! I´ll go change. Be back in a minute!”

Pen-Pen chose that moment to come out his fridge. He deposited his newspaper on the reciclable paper basket, and stared at Shinji. The kid put the Penguin´s plate on the floor, containing a generous serving of marinated fish he had prepared beforehand. The warm water penguin looked at him approvingly before digging in.

While Shinji checked on the food, Misato came back from her room, wearing a t-shirt three sizes too big, and her favorite pair of ratty shorts. She sat at the table, and opened the first envelope from the bills pile. Her face seemed to get longer and longer, as she added the bills in her head. “I think I will be broke by the end of the month... Oh... Shinjiiii!” The young pilot knew what would come next, he was very familiar with that sing-song tone.

He put an envelope on the table, and slid it towards Misato. “Here´s my part for this month. But that dress you have to pay it for yourself.”

“Thanks, Shinji! You´re the best roomie!”

Shinji smiled back at her.

Finally, Misato got to the last envelope. “Hey! A letter from Asuka! Didn´t she write to you? You´re too quiet.”

“Yes, she wrote me a letter, but I´m saving it for later.”

Right then, Shinji´s cell chirped. “(Time to change to German, Misato.)”

“(Okay, where were we.)”

“(Bills to pay.)”

“(Hah! Don´t try to escape, Shinji. Letter from Asuka. Have you proposed yet or will you wait until she comes to Tokyo-3?)”

“Misato!” Shinji was as red as a tomato.

“(Hey, a girl needs her fun. Now tell me.)”

“(Well... so far, we´re good. But we are just friends. Pen pals.)”

Pen-Pen raised his head, thinking he had been called. He shrugged and went back to his last fish.

“(So, what are you waiting for? Open your letter! I promise I won´t read over your shoulder. Much.)”

“(Not yet. Let´s eat first)” and he put the letter in his backpack.

“(Spoilsport.)” Misato pouted.

* * *

Once the meal was finished, Shinji took the plates to the kitchen sink. Misato awaited impatiently, while she read the letter Asuka had sent her. Hmm... It seemed Asuka was a bit curious about her future co-worker. Asuka was very reserved, but Misato knew how to read between the lines. There were a few questions implicit in the text.

“(Dishes done. Now, if you excuse me, I´m going to my room.)”

“(Hey! Are you going to leave me hanging here?)”

“(Yes.)”

“(You are no fun.)” Misato stuck her tongue at him, and went back to her letter.

* * *

In his Lovely Suite, Shinji opened the envelope.

“(Hey, Third!

My guardian and me are about to start our journey to Tokyo-3, we will arrive in a few weeks, so if you want to write me back, send your letter through NERV´s post; adressed to me, in Unit-02 Convoy; I´ll send you some postcards from the cities we pass through.

I got your pictures, I really hope your friends are smarter than they look. At least your friend looks sensible enough; Class Rep, eh?

I´m sending you a picture with my guardian, his name is Ryoji Kaji. I hope you learn a lot from him. Who knows? Meybe you will get a girlfrien one of these days! Good luck with that!

About that restaurant, I trust in Misato´s taste, but you should go and check the service. I´m very picky about where I eat.

Ah, and lastly, be ready to lose your Top Pilot title! :D

See you soon

ASL)”

Shinji took the picture, and felt as if a lightning bolt had hit him square in the chest. Along with Asuka, there was the badly shaved man the Phantom Stranger had shown him. Ryoji Kaji. Now he had a name for that face. And the time they would take to arrive to Japan would seem an eternity.

* * *

“(Misato, Asuka is on her way here.)”

“(At last! They should have mobilized them ages ago. Stupid bean-counters... What else? Has she surrendered to your suave Casanova charm yet?)”

Once again, Shinji´s face was red. “(¡Misato!)”

“(Awww!! You are too fun to tease! Now, seriously, what did she said?)”

Shinji just stared at her for a few seconds, but knew he couldn´t stay mad at her for too long. So he sat at the table and read from the letter.

“(Well, she and her guardian must have left Berlin by now. Any letters we send to her or his guardian should be sent through NERV´s delivery, she will be sending postcards on the way. She suggests I check that restaurant you told me about before she arrives…)”

Misato interrupted him, (“Be sure to ask for the private booth, its very romantic.”)

“(Knock it off already, Misato!)”

Misato pouted; well, she had covered her Teasing Shinji quota for the day... So, she opened a beer, smiling like a sphinx. “(Okay, okay, enough is enough. Go on.)”

“(She also sent a picture of her and her guardian.)” Shinji gave the picture to Misato.

She went suddenly pale. All her good humor drained away in a second. “(Oh, crap... It can´t be... Ryoji Kaji...)”

“(You know him?)”

“(Of course I know him! He is a complete idiot, a chauvinist pig, an egocentric jerk... a... a...)” Misato had run out of adjectives, “(Gah! I thought I had gotten rid of that idiot years ago!)”

Shinji didn´t know what to say, he had never seen Misato in such a foul mood. “(What will you do..?)”

“(Any luck and he will leave as soon as Asuka and Unit-02 are under NERV´s custody.)”

“(Oookay…)”

“(However, I have to be present during the transfer; and I´m almost sure it will be as soon as they enter into Japanese waters)”

“(Maybe it won´t be so bad. If that´s all there is, it won´t be more than a few hours.)” Inside, Shinji was wondering just what could have happened between them. Maybe Misato would tell him later; but for the moment, he thought best to deploy his own secret weapon. “(I have a chocolate cake in the fridge, freshly done. I had planned to give it to Dr. Akagi and Lieutenant Ibuki tomorrow, but I think this is an emergency. Want a slice?)”

“(Chocolate?)”

“(Double chocolate.)” Misato forgot her bad mood in an instant.

* * *

****_GeoFront_  
Transport Band to Science Section   
A few days later 

"Fifteen years ago, in the Antarctic, Mankind found the being that would be famous as the First Angel. Ritsuko Akagi spoke like a college professor during a conference. Shinji looked surrepticiously at Misato, noting how hard she was squeezing the folder she carried. She was looking anywhere but at them.

_´Finally, they are telling me the truth about Second Impact...´_ Shinji prepared himself to hide his knowledge.

“But, during the research, on unknown causes, the Angel blew up.”

Shinji kept silent, paying attention, comparing Dr. Akagi´s words to what the Phantom Stranger had shown him. ´ _Unknown causes, suuure._ ”, he snarked in the privacy of his mind. ´ _SEELE sent Professor Katsuragi to poke a sleeping dragon with a branding iron. Of course something would go wrong there.´_

“That was the Second Impact.”

Shinji tried a naive question. “So, then our mission is..?”

“To prevent a probable Third Impact, Shinji. That´s the purpose of NERV and all the Evangelion Units. By the way, Captain, tomorrow´s event has been confirmed.”

Shinji realized his part in the conversation had ended, and wondered what event they were talking about. Misato seemed to know it already, and didn´t add anymore information. She just nodded, her lips tense with a deep dislike.

He hoped it would be something simple, like another parent/teacher meeting. No, on a second thought, it would be better if it wasn´t that. Misato´s appearance at school had put the gossip mill into overdrive, and he had more than half the boys at school asking for Misato´s phone number; and more than half the girls were sending him death glares because of that.

* * *

**_January the 5 th, 2009   
Quintessence´s Plane_ **

Deadman floated, sitting on the air, before the Phantom Stranger. _“Any progress on your side?”_

“A partial one. I haven´t been able to penetrate the fog that obscures my vision. But, thanks to your information, I have determined that at some point in the future Angels War, there will be a schism between SEELE and Gendo Ikari. He is not the faithful lackey he looks like. Their plans are compatible only up to a certain point. After that, Ikari will betray them to execute his own escenario. They are using each other.”

Dead man rolled his eyes, the effect would have been better had they not been completely white. _“Just like supervillains. They never agree on anything. So, what about the kids?”_

“They are merely tools for SEELE and Ikari. Shinji is barely a back-up plan for a contingency. Even so, Ikari has groomed him carefully to serve his designs.”

Deadman slammed his fist against his left palm. _“What a jerk! Leave him to me; I´ll get him to a place he won´t be able to return from!”_

“No. There are two reasons. To take him off the board now would leave free reign to SEELE. And two, the same fog that hides SEELE from me also protects the Third Impact conspiracy from any direct interference from us. Or any other magic being walking the Earth.”

A disbelieving Deadman stammered. _“T-then... I can´t hijack his body?”_

“No, Ikari and SEELE´s members are immune to your power and mine. That´s the reason your investigations couldn´t get you close to them. In fact, it´s amazing you could find out so much, even with such a handicap.”

Deadman beamed. A compliment from the Phantom Stranger was high praise indeed. The Stranger continued, “We have to act through indirect means.”

He extended a hand towards the globe. “Through the children they have marked as their tools.”

Deadman rubbed his chin. _“I don´t like that.”_

“You will like it even less. Event´s have reached an unstoppable momentum by now. We must allow the Angels Wars to proceed. The only thing we can do is guide the events. At least, until I can find a way to destroy or bypass that mystic barrier. I´m afraid our best bet might be Barter.” Next to the globe, the image of a man appeared. He appeared to be about fifty years old, portly; with a thick, neat moustache; a sharp tailored suit, a bit outmoded; surrounded by shelves with all kinds of knick-knacks. Some of the objects were recognizable mystic relics.

“Damn... I haven´t had the pleasure, but his reputation precedes him. He is famously mercenary.”

“Barter is absolutely honest and literal. That is the problem. He delivers scrupulously, to the letter of any arrangement done. No more and no less than was agreed. One must be very careful about what´s asked of Barter. He never accepts payments on any kind of money, only trades; that´s part of his curse. He must trade something equivalent in value to whatever is asked of him, be it an object, information or services. He can´t give nor receive anything unless those conditions are met.”

“I think I would prefer a card reading from Madame, thank you very much.”

The Stranger tensed at hearing those words.

Deadman added, a bit subdued. “Madame Olga? The furtune-teller back at the circus? Her tent always smelled to incense and tobacco. I felt sick everytime I passed next to it.”

“I see.” But the Phantom Stranger didn´t elaborate.

* * *

* * *

**_Author´s Notes_ **

Being a tragedy, most problems in Evangelion could have been prevented by some simple communication, the characters were psychologically unable to open to each other; so, despite being even more guarded, the Phantom Stranger sets Shinji to do exactly that, establishing communication lines all around him.

* * *

According to the timeline I´m using, Deadman was murdered back in 1979, so, by the point he finds out about SEELE and NERV, he has been doing his job for almost 30 years! That´s a bit more than the time he was actually alive!

Ah, Deadman has known the Phantom Stranger for almost as long as he has been dead. The Phantom Stranger has been around for far longer than that. His earlier recorded appearance in the 20th Century was in 1952 (date of his first appearance in print), although for some reason, he didn´t wore his better known clothes. At the time, he wore a suit and tie, with a black trenchcoat. So, yes, he is considered a precursor and founding member of the Trenchcoat Brigade.

* * *

I know Shinji is usually portrayed in fics as not knowing he does get a paycheck; but I think that, at least in this version, he gets some payment for his services. Though most of it is deposited in a trust fund for his education (even though both SEELE and NERV only do this to keep up appearances, they don´t really expect anybody to still be alive a year in the future); he still gets enough to help Misato with their apartment upkeep. And otherwise, where does he gets the money for all those books and magazines about the Second Heroic Age he buys? Some of them are rare, expensive, imported, or all three!

This time, Misato won´t be blindsided by Kaji´s arrival. At least not as badly as she did in canon.

Barter was a little used character back in the 90´s, he only had a few appearances before being forgotten by DC. I always thought he was an interesting character and liked how hard a bargain he could drive. He always fulfilled any deals to the absolute letter of the agreement. And he was very well connected for a guy who never set foot ouside his (moving) shop.


	5. Rogue

ROGUE

 

"Lady, you are completely crazy! This plan of yours is mental!" Deadman shouted on Misato's face, unseen and unheard as always. He had been surprised by the Operations Director's plan as much as Dr. Akagi and Commander Ikari themselves.

Now it was too late to do something. She had stated her idea in so few words he didn't even had the chance to try to snatch her body to shut her up. Deadman facepalmed, trying to think a way to stop Misato Katsuragi from risking her life in a very heroic, but completely unnecessary, way.

"And you know what's the worst part? You don't even have to do anything! Your friend here has everything under control! Damn!" Over his shoulder, Deadman pointed at Doctor Akagi with his thumb. He had been present when the Commander had ordered Akagi to design a computer virus to hijack Jet Alone's control, making it seem dangerously out of control for a predetermined length of time, shutting itself off, way before it was a real danger to anybody; it would simply stop in the middle of the desert. The aim was simply to discredit NERV's main competitor and secure their own funding, not actually destroying a city.

A dirty trick, for sure, but effective. And Akagi was good enough to get away with it.

"Okay… Okay…", exasperated, the ghost threw his hands on the air, and then wagged his index finger right under Misato's nose, "I see you're determined to do this. I'll stick around, just to make sure you don't get… agh! There are so many things that could go wrong with this plan of yours it's not even funny!"

 

"Ok, Shinji, you have to get close to that walking boiler and drop me near the maintenance hatch. I'll shut it down from the inside while you keep it from reaching Atsugi."

Misato had changed into a heavy radiation suit that would protect her from the worst effects of both radioactivity and heat; underneath, she wore a form-fitting insulated suit, as an extra layer of protection. Still, she would not have much time inside Jet Alone to shut it down.

At her side, the ghostly acrobat was shooting her with what would have been a withering stare, had she been able to see it; at the same time, Deadman was, very deliberately, doing the old exercises he used to do before a show. Being a ghost, he didn't actually needed them, but they still worked well enough for his purposes, they helped him to focus and calmed him down.

Next to her, the kid was almost sweating bullets. As far as he could remember, Misato had been the first person to look at him as, well, as a person; not as a burden, an annoyance or a tool. He was, understandably, very fond of her.

Deadman was not the only one doing something to focus, Shinji Ikari had been mumbling a few words to himself. A new mantra instead of his old "I must not run away."- Knowing something about what was in store for him, his fellow pilots, and the world, he had chosen to defy the would-be puppet masters of his fate in the only way he thought possible at the moment; by denying them his weakness. "I will not break.", he whispered a last time. Once again, he found a measure of courage by thinking about the Batman, the Robins, Green Arrow and Speedy; mere mortals in a world of physical gods, who through courage, ingenuity and skill, measured up to them.

"Got it, Shinji?" Misato asked, looking at him.

"Yes. Let's stop this thing." Shinji raised his right hand and closed his fist, making the plugsuit glove squeak a bit. It was a noise he always found annoying, yet somehow, now it helped him to focus his mind.

 

In Unit-01's plug, Shinji watched Jet Alone walking towards Atsugi, if it wasn´t so big and dangerous, Jet Alone would have been comical; two long slender arms, two long slender legs, and a too big torso in the middle. Its head was just a flat protuberance in top of the torso, from wich six long control rods extended, forming a kind of frill (exactly the worst place for a set of control rods to be during a fight, on the outside; he thought). From the sky, the giant robot looked like a toy soldier a boy had wound up and let loose on a sandbox. Something about this image was itching at the back of Shinji's mind. He pushed the thought down; at the moment, it was just a distraction.

Unit-01 hanged from a complex drop mechanism. The plane Lt. Makoto Hyuga was flying was beyond any adjective Shinji had. Any plane able to fly an Evangelion Unit around was by necessity, impressive. Still, in case Jet Alone went into a meltdown, the plane was as vulnerable as any other flying machine. A stray thought crossed Shinji's mind, "Maybe Misato or Lieutenant Hyuga would get powers, but I wouldn't bet on those odds…" For a split second, he imagined the Parasite's hideous lamprey-like face replacing Makoto's face, or much worse, Misato's. He gritted his teeth, determined to do everything in his power to fulfill the mission just as Misato had planned.

In Unit-01's hand, Misato Katsuragi waited for the drop, sweating a bit in her radiation suit.

And next to her, Deadman counted the seconds to the drop, ready to act. Even after all these years as a ghost, he still wished he could crack his knuckles… Technically, he could still do the movements, but his knuckles just didn't were solid enough, or at all, to make any sort of noise.

 

In a colossal cloud of dust, Unit-01 touched the ground running. The transport plane, now free from the Evangelion's weight, shot up to the sky as if a giant had kicked it. Shinji controlled every movement of the behemoth with all the finesse he was capable of. A single mistake could either crush the fragile body of his friend, or drop her to a death like Naoko Akagi's. He felt both honored and worried sick about the trust Misato had placed on him, and was determined to not fail her.

Unit-01 ran after Jet Alone, overtaking the automaton in a few seconds, Shinji managed to equal its speed, and grabbed a structure at Jet Alone's back. It looked suspiciously like a handle, but it was actually for hooking the giant robot to cargo helicopters. Still, it would serve him as a really big and useful handle. Unit-01 grabbed it with its right hand, and dug its feet into the ground, stopping the robot cold for a few seconds.

Shinji raised Unit-01's left hand to the maintenance hatch, taking care not to drop Misato. With amazing precision, the big hand got Misato close to the hatch, and let her jump down.

"No!" Misato had slipped! And was rolling down towards the edge of the robot's torso, and from there, to certain death! Shinji scrambled to try to catch her, but she would fall several meters before hitting the EVA's hand…

"Oh, no, lady! You won't!" Deadman snatched Misato's body in a split second, twisting as she rolled down, managing to grab a ring of the maintenance stairs, Misato's body slammed painfully against Jet Alone's hull, but he held firm to the ring until he was sure Misato would not fall. He signaled "she" was OK to Shinji, and went up the stairs. The young pilot exhaled the breath he had been holding up.

Once inside the robot, Deadman released Misato. "Uh? I though I…" She didn't remember how she had gotten inside the robot, but she left that for later, right now she had to input the password that would shut the thing down.

"Hope", she wrote. An Error message? What? She wrote the password again. The same Error message appeared. 'DAMN! I'll have to do this the hard way.', she thought, as she looked around. There was a series of big control rods in the chamber. If only she could manage to push them manually into their places… "SHINJI! Keep it still! I'll have to insert the control rods by myself!"

"What?"

 

Outside, Unit-01 pushed against Jet Alone with all its might. The robot still kept walking as if nothing was on its way, its feet carving tracks on the ground. Once again, Shinji thought about a toy soldier. Inspiration struck him like a lightning bolt. "Misato, wait! Get hold of something! I have an idea."

"Wh…t? Repea… …at!", came a garbled answer.

"Hold on to something! I'll tell you when you can go on!"

"…kay! Whate…r you are going to do, it better b… …ood! I'm ready!"

Unit-01 released Jet Alone and stepped aside, letting the robot walk unimpeded a few steps. Then, Unit-01 grabbed the robot under the arms in a bear hug, lifting it above the ground, taking care not to break the control rods protruding from its back and shoulders. With a mighty yell, Shinji held Jet Alone's weight on the air, locking the Eva in position, just like he had during his improvised rescue of Toji and Kensuke, back when he had fought Shamshel. The colossus still moved as if it was walking on solid ground, just as Shinji had suspected it would. "Now, Misato! Hurry up!"

Inside, a desperate Misato was pushing a control rod into Jet Alone's reactor. She was barely strong enough to do it. Fearing the virus would take too long to run its course, Deadman snatched her body again, using all her strength in ways the captain had not yet thought of, and pushed her legs against the walls and her back against the first rod, slowly pushing it until it clicked into its place.

As they were pushing the second rod, the red emergency lights were replaced by white lights. The rod they were pushing slid into place, making them fall anticlimactically to the floor. The crisis was over, the other rods went inside without a hitch.

Jet Alone deactivated itself, the virus had run its course, and was erasing itself, leaving behind the original programing from Japan Heavy Chemical Industries, and zero evidence of tampering.

Deadman released the captain, and sat on the opposite side of the control room; knees high, and his forearms over them. "Lady, you got guts; I salute you." And he did.

 

Jet Alone stopped his crazy walk on the air, and seemed to relax. "Misato? Are you okay?"

The answer took a little while to come. "Yes," she panted, "I'm just really, really tired… I need a beer… a really, really cold beer…"

"I'm so happy to hear you." Shinji sighed loudly, relieved. "I'll get you a beer from Pen-Pen's stash. I may have to bribe him with a top shelf tuna can. Meanwhile, I think I should get you down before something else happens."

A weak "Okay…" answered.

"Just give me a moment." He pushed a button to change channels. "Lieutenant Hyuga?"

"I'm here, Shinji. Want me to evacuate you guys up?"

"No need, the robot has stopped. Just tell me where can I point this thing, in case it decides to go walking off again. I think it just got stuck into walking mode, and the city was just in the way."

"OK, turn it around… about 40 degrees to your right. There's nothing but desert for miles in that direction."

"Thanks!" careful not to jostle it too much, he put Jet Alone back on the ground. Soon, the maintenance hatch opened again, and a tired to her bones Misato appeared. A quick glance showed Shinji Unit-01 still had about half a minute of power, enough time. Unit-01 grabbed the handle, just in case Jet Alone decided to go for another stroll; releasing it as soon as Misato had dropped safely on Unit-01's hand. Shinji covered the hand Misato was on with Unit-01's other hand, both to keep her from falling and to protect her from any radioactive leak. He walked Unit-01 several EVA-sized steps away from Jet Alone before getting Misato to the ground.

'We did well, Mom. Misato is safe.' A feeling of satisfaction responded.

EVA-01 knelt, letting Misato jump down to solid ground. Shinji ejected the plug and released the folding ladder to get down too.

 

Once on the ground, Misato took readings with a portable Geiger Counter. Her suit was somewhat charged with radiation, but not over safe limits. Anyway, she took it off far away from her young ward, keeping the insulated undersuit on. After another check, she was satisfied she had not been exposed to radiation. Both she and Shinji were safe.

They sat by the Evangelion's feet, and watched as the sun set in the horizon, glad for each other's company.

Deadman lied lazily over Unit-01's foot, his head pointing at its toes, hands on his belly, ankles crossed high, resting over the cyborg's own ankle, smiling at the improbable pair of heroes. "I'll have to watch you closely, Cap. I just hope you don't get any more crazy ideas like this one."

 

While they waited for the recovery crews, Misato fell asleep, the adrenaline rush she had been riding on had been spent. Shyly, Shinji passed an arm over her shoulder, and held her to keep her from falling. It didn't take long for her to start snoring softly. Big difference from the way she snored/roared at home…

'I wonder… I was half-expecting the Stranger would show up…' he thought. "I hope he's okay."

He blinked slowly, and then smiled at himself as he realized he was more worried about the Phantom Stranger than of being abandoned. He rested his head against Misato´s, and thought about just how much his life had changed since he met him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Notes
> 
> Not to diminish Misato's courage in this episode, but Deadman would not stand still while she rolled down Jet Alone's hull. He saw a chance to help, and did it without hesitation. BTW, it is really fun to think of the outrageous things Deadman would do; after all he is, very literally, a restless spirit!
> 
> All that reading about the Second Heroic Age is paying big dividends; Shinji got a new way to look at the world, and everything is getting filtered through it.
> 
> I want to thank my beta reader, Arkbeth, for his valuable help in all my published fics, plus a few loose notes and pilots I´ve writen and have yet to publish.
> 
> And don't worry, the Phantom Stranger will be back soon.


	6. Interludes After Jet Alone

**Interludes After Jet Alone**  
________________________________________  
Note, the parenthesis indicate languages other than Japanese; in this chapter, English, Interlac, and German. Not necessarily in that order  
________________________________________

  
**Gotham City (mid year 2002)**  
 **Iceberg Lounge, Secret Basement.**

"Gentlement, a little bird has confirmed the news. The chiroptera has flown to the Great Beyond."

A murmur crossed the room. Not even one of the present people dared to imagine it was true.

Two strikes of a gavel silenced the whispers. "Order in the room! I demand order in the room!" Two-Face pointed the gavel at the Penguin. "Cobblepot, it's not the first time we think the Bat is dead, what proof do you have to show?"

  
"Personally? None at all, Harvey." The Penguin shrugged. "But not only Batman hasn't been seen for more than two months, not even one of his birds has shown a single feather in that same time. Plus, my source is quite reliable. According to her, Ra's al Ghul was trying to finish the job Second Impact started, and he was stopped by the Bat's flock. And now, not only the Batman, but all his sidekicks are vulture food." He chewed the end of his cigarette holder, dropping ash to the floor.

  
New whispers from the astounded criminals. Two-Face called order again, twice, for good measure. "I need a second confirmation."

  
"Of course, but I won't be the one who calls my source a liar." Oswald Cobblepot replaced the cigarette, looking around. "In my opinion, and even conceding it could be a trap, we could take the chance to..." he took his monocle off, and carefully, cleaned it before putting it back in its place. The Penguin had always appreciated a good dramatic pause, he continued when he was sure he had the whole attention of everybody, "move discreetly. No crime waves, no garish hits, waugh! Not even costumes! Let's be subtle for once in our lives, gentlemen. Let's be selective. After all, if the heroes are dead, we have all the time in the world; and if they are not, let's let them deal with other villains in other cities. Let's make our egg nests big and plump."

  
Most of the Gotham City Rogues Gallery was present, from rank-and-file gangsters, like Rupert Thorne, and their mooks; up to the most absurd costumed criminals. Mr. Freeze, Killer Croc, the Mad Hatter, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, Firefly, Catwoman, the Scarecrow, Black Mask, Harley Quinn, Clayface II and IV, Deadshot, Killer Moth, the Riddler, Hugo Strange, even Cluemaster were there. There were two notable absences: Poison Ivy, whom her closest associates Catwoman and Harley Quinn said didn't know her current whereabouts; and the Clown Prince of Crime, the Joker himself. Except for Harley Quinn, all the presents were actually relieved the Joker had not deigned himself to assist to the gathering.

  
The Joker had been invited, of course, no one wanted to offend him, as he always got even with any offense with a smile. A dead rictus on the face of whomever had offended him. It was also the reason all the criminals in Gotham reserved a cut of their ill-gotten gains for him.  
To the relief, and dread of everybody, the Joker had not shown his face ever since his escape from the ruins of Arkham Asylum, knocked down in the aftershocks of Second Impact. Harley insisted that Mr. J. would appear when he was ready, and that he had a grand plan; but she had gotten evasive when the Riddler asked for any details. The Harlequin of Hate was unpredictable in the best case; and it seemed this time, he would play his cards very close to the vest.

  
By the time the meeting ended, and after long discussions, refereed by the Penguin and Two-Face, Gotham City's underworld had cut the city in pieces, establishing their own personal domains. Several of the more especialized crooks decided to not claim a territory, but work with the land-holders, or for them, if they had need of their services.

  
The next months were very profitable. Penguin's strategy had worked even better than they had thought. The last heroes had prioritized the rescue efforts, or were dealing with the villains on other cities. Ironically, had somebody taken the time to compile statistics, Gotham City would have seemed to be one of the safest places in the country. Of course, that would have been a mere illusion. Corruption and crime had simply imposed order onto chaos. The only thing going down was the number of criminal reports.

  
________________________________________  
**2013**  
 **A Nameless Dimensional Plane**

  
A window floated in the turbulent air, showing the images of two children. A redheaded girl, belligerant, agresive, bold in word and action. And a chestnut haired boy, mild-mannered, protective, easygoing.

  
Two voices spoke in harmony, although they were completely opposite. One was guttural and wild, the other, cultured and deliberate. "What do you think? They are the best candidates so far." The guttural voice was clearer.

  
The same voices answered a moment later; but now, the cultured voice was clearer. "They will do, but they are not ready yet."  
Both voices answered, both equally clear, "We shall wait. In due time, the chance will present itself."  
________________________________________  
**Present Time**  
 **Katsuragi Apartament.**

  
Shinji studied the picture Asuka had sent him. Something in it was disquieting. Leaving apart the implications of her letter, there was something in the picture...

  
"You're gonna wear that out if you keep looking at it like that."  
"Misato!"

  
"Ah, relax, Shinji." Misato took a beer can out the fridge, opened it wit practiced ease, and emptied in a single move. "I won't be needling you too much."

  
"Uh?"

  
"I must go back to NERV and check on Unit-02's trip here. It's because of the time difference with Europe."

  
Shinji needed a moment to understand. "Oh. I'll leave you dinner ready on the fridge, and set the microwave oven. You'll only need to take the containers from the fridge, put them in the oven, and push the button."

  
Misato sighed tiredly, and stretched like a cat. Shinji heard her vertebrae realign with a series of very unladylike popping sounds. "As I've said, you are the best roomie!"

  
Shinji smiled, and put the picture back in it's envelope.

  
"Uh... ¿Misato? I want to ask you something, but I don't want to offend you...

  
"I'm not going to be your third girlfriend, or is it fourth?” she tapped a finger on her cheek, pretending to be in deep thought, “I can't keep track anymore." She counted with her fingers. "Let's see, Rei, Asuka,

I think Hikari has been eyeing you..."

  
"Misato! NO! I haven't gotten a girlfriend! It's something else."

  
Misato pouted and looked at him with big, teary eyes. "Y-y-you don't want to be my boyfriend..?" And laughed happily at seeing Shinji stutter.  
Realizing he had fallen into Misato's trap, Shinji huffed his indignation. "One! Rei is like a sister to me! Two! I haven't even met Asuka in person yet, and Three! Hikari likes Toji, not me!" He covered his mouth with both hands, realizing he had said more than he had intended. "...oh, crap..."

  
Misato laughed again. "Yep, I had noticed, I think the only one who hasn't is Toji himself. Aaaand Kensuke. And now that I think it, Hikari! Man, you kids are a mess! Now, what did you actually want to ask me?"

  
"Ah... yessss..." He took breath, "What happened with you and Mr. Kaji?" Immediately, he raised his hands in a concliatory gesture. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to!"

  
Misato looked into the distance. "Maybe I'll tell you one day. You wouldn't understand it now." She seemed... sad...

  
'Well, at least she didn't get angry.' he thought. 'I hope they can at least work together. If Mr. Kaji was in the vision the Phantom Stranger showed me, he might stay for a while. And I'll need him on my side.'  
________________________________________  
**Present Time**  
 **Somewhere in Poland**  
 **Trans-Syberian Train Route**

  
Asuka Langley Soryu closed her laptop. She had been comparing the performance stats of all three Evangelion Units, and neither Unit-00 nor Unit-01 held a candle to her Unit-02. Only the Third Child was a remote threat to her supremacy as the best Evangelion pilot. Good. She had hoped the Third would be a potential rival. She needed a challenge. And an easy victory just wasn't satisfactory.

  
Analysing the tapes of his battles, she was surprised to notice that Ikari seemed to have two very different sides. In his letters, he was always nice, kind and deferential. In combat, he seemed to change. Even from a battle to the next. In his first sortie, he was lucky to get out the plug alive.

Asuka grimaced at imagining just how painful Sachiel's attack must have been, with its energy spike going all the way through Unit-01's head! After that, Ikari had gone completely berserk! She drummed her fingers on the little table in her train compartment. And she was sure there MUST be something wrong with the cameras. It seemed like Unit-01 first had a broken arm, but later it was perfectly whole and functional.

  
The second fight had been even more worrying. In Asuka's professional opinion, having the other two Stooges in the plug must have added so much static in the mental interface, Ikari had gone into a nervous breakdown, acting with suicidal bravery. He had disobeyed Misato's orders to retreat to a safe place!

  
Hmm... She though it would fall to her to make sure he didn't do anything that stupid again. By hook or by crook.

  
By the third fight, things were looking much better. This time, Ikari had acted with cold blood. He held his position even under attack. Impressive. Especially considering he had been practically boiled alive a few hours before. The First Child had shown an acceptable level of discipline in her first combat mission. They had made a good team, she had to admit.

  
The fourth battle had been strange, to say the least. Not against an Angel, but versus a giant, nuclear powered robot, built by some japanese company which clearly had no idead of what their wind-up toy would be facing against Angels. This time, Ikari had actually shown some tactical planning! And to think just before the incident, Misato had wrote she would put her life in Ikari's hands. No one would have thought she would literally do it.

  
She was starting to feel a grudging respect for the Third Child. Despite having been, basically thrown into the deep end of the pool, he had adapted quickly to the role, and according to Misato, he was taking his training and school performance, very seriously.

  
Yes, the Third Child was really improving with each battle. It didn't matter, though. She was so much better. As long as he and the First Child accepted she was the best, they would work together just fine.

  
She looked out the window, taking the chance a long curve offered her to look at the enormous car that contained her beloved Unit-02. The tracks had to be reinforced to accomodate the weight of an Evangelion Unit, at a great cost, surely. But in the end, such an investment would make easier for bigger cargo trains to go from one side of Europe to the opposite extreme of Asia.

  
She put her laptop back in her luggage, and went out to look for Kaji.  
________________________________________  
**Katsuragi Apartment**  
 **Three Days Later, Homework Reunion**

  
"Man! We are done! I can't believe we finished it so fast!" Toji Suzuhara stretched his arms over his head, under the disapproving eye of Hikari Horaki.

  
"Suzuhara! Behave yourself!" She slapped him on the shoulder.

  
"Oww…! Class Rep! I…"

  
Shinji intervened. "It's no problem, Horaki. I myself really would like to stretch my legs."

  
Kensuke pushed his glasses back up his nose, enjoying his friend´s predicament. "What do you say we all relax a bit? I just picked up a new DVD set in the way here, and I'm really impatient to see it!"

  
"Homework is done, I should go back to my apartment." Rei startled everybody but Shinji. She had been so quiet they had almost forgotten she was there.

  
Shinji stood up, and held up his hand to help her stand. "I think you should stay a little longer, Ayanami. It looks like it will rain soon. Let me prepare some food, and I'll walk you home afterwards."

  
"That is… acceptable; I will stay. However, I must say I don't eat any meat."

  
"No problem, I can make some salad and mushroom soup."

  
"Thanks." Rei smiled her shy little smile. Shinji smiled back at her.

  
"Hey, Kensuke, what series did you get?" Toji was already on his feet, and, hesitating just a bit and blushing a little, helped Hikari to get up; just like Shinji had with Rei. She blushed too.

  
Kensuke was already digging in his backpack, taking out a boxed set. He showed it proudly, "Bio-Armor Jade Warrior! Season One! It´s the original series, from 1993!" The cover of the box displayed two figures, their poses matching with each other; in the foreground, a kid about eight years old, wearing a striped shirt and a baseball cap, looking defiantly up; and behind him, an imposing robot-like figure, looking severely in the same direction as the boy. He was heavily armored, strong, his chest was crossed by what looked like two crimson bandoliers. Something in the big figure seemed familiar to Shinji, but he couldn't put a finger on it.

  
"Looks cool!" he said, while Hikari shrugged and exchanged a look with Rei, that practically screamed "…boys…", Rei looked intrigued by the cover.

  
"Let me help, Shinji." Hikari went to the kitchen after Shinji.

  
"Sure, thanks!" After a brief discussion to decide what would they prepare, they started working in the meal. While Shinji cut the ingredients, Hikari was already preparing the pots. Toji watched them for a moment, amazed on their teamwork. It actually looked like they had done this before. Not preparing food, of course, but working together; he knew Shinji was a decent cook, and that Hikari had taken the mother role for her family; now they looked like they had practiced together before, both moved in perfect tandem! He actually felt a little jealous.

  
Meanwhile, Kensuke and Rei were preparing the living room for an improvised movie afternoon. He turned on the TV set. "Hey, guys. Which channel? While the food is done, I mean."

  
From the kitchen, Shinji answered. "What about the news? Just to check the weather."

  
"Sure thing!" he zapped the remote, until he found what he wanted. Usually, the weather report came at the end of the slot, so they would have to wait a little while.

  
Toji was a bit at a loss about what to do, he was rubbish in the kitchen, the living room was all set, and he wanted to help with something. "Hey, Shinji! You want me go get some sodas? Pop corn? I can do a trip to the convenience store if you need something."  
"Yes, please! I had no time to get everything. Let me get some money."

  
"Nah, man! It's on me, it's the least I can do after helping me save my grade with this homework!" Before Shinji had a chance to argue, he was already out.  
________________________________________

  
Toji came back just as Hikari and Shinji had finished their work, all that was left was wait for the food to be cooked. Shinji stayed at the kitchen watching the pots, while Hikari sat on the couch with Rei.

  
The jock maneuvered into the kitchen with two bags full of sodas and snacks, and deposited his bounty on the table. "Hey, Ayanami; it seems you'll have to stay a while after all. It's starting to rain, and I think it will be quite a while."

  
"Oh." She said simply. "It is okay."

  
Meanwhile, the newscast was running a "Where are they now?" feature. "…Today, it's been 13 years since the disappearance of Yuchiro Takata, founder and main stockholder of New Concept Industries, and a well known philanthropist since his retirement. After Second Impact, Takata–san ran several charities and free clinics for refugees, and his work was of great importance to reestablish an orderly society in Post-Impact Japan. He was last seen during the re-inauguration of the Okinawa General Hospital. Reportedly, he went home; but his car was found abandoned in a side street; simply closed, with no signs of violence. Many volunteers helped in the search, but to date, no trace has been found of Yuchiro Takata or his fate."

  
"Oh. I hope they find him." said Hikari, sadly; while setting the plates. "My grandfather used to work for him, and he always said he was the kindest boss he ever had."

  
"Food is ready!" Shinji said from the kitchen.  
________________________________________  
As they ate the entrees, they shared an easy camaraderie, joking and laughing. Rei was even opening a bit; she still was almost monotone in her speech, but she was warming up to their friends.

  
Shinji was content, not only because he actually had friends now, but also because he was glad he had taken the Phantom Stranger's advice. He felt much better with himself and with life in general. Of course, he was still angry with the Commander and SEELE for what they had done and still planned to do, but he hoped the Phantom Stranger would help him to foil their plans. It would be so easy to lose himself in anger and revenge, but he refused to go that way.

  
'Now it would be a good moment', he thought. 'I'm glad I talked it with her.'

  
"Friends, I want to tell you something." They all looked at him with curiosity. "As you know, both Rei and myself are Evangelion pilots, but we are not the only ones." Kensuke's eyes shone behind his glasses. He took out his camera and prepared to tape Shinji.

  
"Is NERV recruiting, Shinji? Where do I send my curriculum?"

  
"Erm… no, Kensuke. Not that I know."

  
"Bummer… Could you put up a good word for me if you get the chance?

  
"Uh... sure. Anyway, the Second Child is on her way here. I've been writing to her, and would like to introduce her to you when she arrives and gets settled."

  
"Is she cute?" blurted Toji.

  
"Suzuhara!" the Class Rep hit him in the ribs with a well placed elbow.

  
"Uh… sorry..?" he smiled sheepishly at Hikari. For some reason, she seemed miffed at him.

  
"Well, I sent her a few pics of us, and she wants to meet us too." Shinji said as he served the soup.

  
"Ah, those mystery pics you had me and Horaki take!" added Kensuke.

  
Shinji smiled. "Those pics in fact. I hope you can be her friends too."

  
"Sure, man. I think I speak for everybody here. Any friend of yours is a friend of ours. We´ll reserve a place for her at our table at school." Toji looked at the others, confirming that.

  
"Glad to hear that, Toji. But I don't think we will be seeing her at school, she already graduated from college."

  
"Whut?"

  
"She's a certified genius. Still, I think she will need to be with kids her age. We can all hang out after school."

  
________________________________________  
**2009**  
 **A pocket dimension**  
 **Barter's Store.**

  
"So, it's agreed." The heavy set man took out a jewel from a box, showing it to his client over the tea set. "You bring me the Emerald Eye of Ekron, and I will give you the Piercer of the Veils."

  
"Yes." The Phantom Stranger examined carefully the jewel in Barter's hands. "The Piercer's energy is mostly spent, however. I insist on it being delivered to me with a complete charge."

  
"Of course, but it will take time to accumulate enough energy. I'll keep it for you in the meanwhile, for a nominal fee of small mystic trinkets; nothing too fancy. As we have agreed on a deal, I won't trade it, it's off my inventory until you deliver the Eye or cancel the deal."  
"Understood. I'll come to collect it when the time is right."

  
"A pleasure making a deal with you, Stranger. You don't just jump in without asking the right questions. Do you have any idea how many of my clients have the unmitigated nerve of getting angry after they get exactly what they asked for?" Barter slammed a fist on the table, shaking the teapot and the cups.

  
The Phantom Stranger looked at Barter from the deep shadows that hid his eyes. "I'd say most of them. They tend to be in some urgency, don't they? We had time enough to haggle to both our satisfactions. You drive a hard bargain."

  
Barter served another cup of tea for himself, the Stranger signaled he had had enough. "Part of the job. You know how it is. Still, it was good to do business with you. Things have been too quiet since Second Impact. Most of my regular clients are either dead, in exile, or simply gone."  
The Stranger nodded, took a last sip from his tea, put the cup back on its plate, and put his hat back on. "I'll be in contact." He stood and in a blink, disappeared.  
________________________________________  
**Quintessence's Dimensional Plane**  
 **A few hours later.**

  
"So, how did it go?" Deadman asked.

  
"Better than expected. We reached an agreement, the Piercer of the Veils is what I need to get through the barrier."

  
"You don't look so happy about it."

  
"It will be delivered to me almost at the end of the Angels War."

  
"Cutting close, eh? And what do we do in the meanwhile? I'm not exactly good at knitting."

  
"We look out for the children. As always. I need you to guide me to NERV. To the holographic room, to be exact."  
"Sure." Deadman jumped from his inexistent seat. "What will you do?"

  
"Follow the past. I need to see for myself how the events came to be."  
________________________________________  
**Tokyo-3**  
 **Present Day**

  
Shinji Ikari stood on the sidewalk, paying no attention to other people walking past him; looking intently at an ad recently posted on his bus stop. He stared at the main figure of the poster, a brightly clad man; wearing a strange green, yellow and red costume, complete with a yellow and red mask, and a long, high collared green cape; the man was wrapped in chains, kneeling under a hanging rock, he even had three sets of handcuffs on his wrists. The rope that held the rock was about to be cut by a chainsaw, wielded by a tall girl standing on a raised platform; she was clad in a strange blue and yellow armor.

  
Proudly, the ad proclaimed: "C.C. Haly and Norton Bros. Circus Proudly Presents: Mr. Miracle! The World's Greatest Escape Artist! In his first World Tour! Defying Death in Every Act! Soon at Tokyo-03 Auditorium!"

  
"One of yours, Shinji?" Toji's voice distracted him.

  
"Uh?"

  
Toji pointed his thumb at the brightly clad figure. "This guy looks like one of your metas. But what would a superguy be doing in a circus?"

  
Shinji shrugged. "Even superguys have to eat, I guess… There was a Mr. Miracle in the JLI, but this guy doesn't really looks like him; he seems younger, skinnier, and shorter, and the costume is different. But look here," he tapped his fingers at a corner of the poster, there was a white haired dwarf with long sideburns, operating a winch, "this guy looks like Mr. Miracle's helper, Oberon. This Mr. Miracle might be an apprentice of the original, or maybe his son or another relative. And that girl's armor looks like the one Big Barda used to wear, but without the cape."

  
"Big Barda?"

  
"Mr. Miracle's wife; she was very strong and powerful. They did a stint at the JLI together; until the group was dissolved. Some time later, she was part of another line-up of the JLA."

  
Toji scratched his head. "Man, you really know a lot about them."

  
Shinji smiled, "And still want to know more." Shinji smiled apologetically, then a sudden inspiration stroke. "Hey, do you think the girls will want to watch the show?"

  
Toji's face was suddenly red. He covered his blush with a cough. "I don't know… We-we-we will have to ask them."

  
Shinji slapped his friend's back. "Don't worry! The worst they can say is no."  
________________________________________  
**Trans-Siberian Route**  
 **Somewhere in the way to Moscow.**

  
"(It feels like autumm in Germany, doesn't it?)" Asuka grabbed Ryoji Kaji's arm, smiling happily.

  
"(Ah, yes. But soon we will be going into the cold part of the trip.)" Kaji was between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, Asuka's attentions were getting bolder every week, and on the other, he didn't want to reject her openly. Her emotional state was key for her performance with Unit-02; and Asuka, despite her claims to maturity, was very fragile inside and didn't dealt well with rejection. He tried to inch a little away from her, but it was useless, she scooted closer to him anyway. To repeat the maneuver, he would have to go through the cabin wall; he was trapped, and both knew it.

  
Once again, he cursed the genius who had designed a weapon that could only be operated by teenagers. That should be a job for professional soldiers. But no, the human race had had the colossal bad luck of needing a weapon that could only be piloted by people born after Second Impact, because of some techno-mumbo-jumbo he didn't really understand.

  
At least the Angels had the decency to wait until said pilots had grown a bit. He shuddered to think of what would have happened if the Angels had appeared in 2005, for example…

  
Asuka mistook his introspection for surrender, and snuggled even closer to him. Kaji couldn't wait until this job was over and he could go back to his apartment in the USA. Well, he might say Hi to Misato and try to patch things between them. She had been a very important part of his life, and they had parted in a bad way.  
________________________________________  
**NERV**  
 **The Commander's Lair**

  
"So, the Third Child's scores have been rising regularly since the Fourth Angel." From behind his steepled fingers, Gendo ikari smiled with all the warmth of a predatory reptile.

  
"Yes, and despite the incident before the Jet Alone sortie, he seems to be achieving better control over the EVA than expected. If he continues like this, soon he will surpass the Second's score." Dr. Akagi checked her notes on Rei's projected progress. "However, the First Child is lagging behind. Whatever method Shinji has been using, he hasn't shared it with her."

  
"The incident was caused by his jealousy of her;" the Commander put the matter to rest with a simple explanation, "and in any case, he quickly reasserted control over Unit-01; I doubt he will lose control again, Unit-01 and him have finally bonded, just as planned. About this synch focus he seems to be using, I'm sure he will share it with Rei if she asks. Let's put their bond to a simple test. Either he will share his method, or he won't. If he does, our two current pilots with increase their synch scores; if he doesn't, we will know their bond needs some reinforcing."

  
"Very well, sir. On another matter, Shinji seems to be better adjusted than expected. Apparently he is finding his way out of the Hedgehog's Dilemma; the agents report he is at least in speaking terms with most of his class, even the girls; and in close association, aside from Rei, with two boys and a girl from school. Hmm… the same two boys Captain Katsuragi authorized to enter Unit-01's plug during the Fourth Angel battle." Akagi frowned, remembering how close they had been to losing Unit-01 that day, due to the young Ikari's reckless charge; and how long had taken to repair to the Evangelion. She had to work extra shifts for a whole week to get the EVA back to battle readiness. She continued. "And the girl is the Class Representative for their group."

  
"It seems the Third gravitates towards people he knows beforehand; and in a small way, people with power over him. Let's keep an eye on them, for as long as it doesn't interfere with the scenario. The moment it does, I want him isolated from them, except for Rei. She will become his beacon and guide him in the right path for the success of the plan."

  
Gendo Ikari sat back on his chair, thinking. After a few seconds, he added, "I want to see their files. They might be useful later. By the time the Dummy Plug System is ready. I want to know which one is best suited to be discovered by the Marduk institute as the Fourth Child, and which levers we can use to convince them for the role." Akagi nodded. She would not write down such an order, but she wouldn't disobey it, either.

  
Gendo added, "I'll see you at the usual time later this night." Akagi understood what he really meant and nodded, a mix of fear and excitement in her mind.

________________________________________  
**NERV**  
 **The Commander's Lair**  
 **(Spiritual Plane)**

  
The ghostly acrobat jumped down from his seat on top of the only lamp in the Commander's office. 'I bet the Stranger will want to know this. Especially about this oh so mysterious Dummy Plug System.' He scratched his chin thoughtfully. 'It might sound like an alternative band's name, but knowing these guys it must be something for the C &S file; as in Creepy and Sinister.' He rubbed his hands together in anticipation of ruining their plans.

  
As he prepared himself to cross dimensional barriers, he finally understood the Commander's last words. Deadman sweatdropped, and hissed back at them. 'I really didn't need to hear that last bit… Now I need some brain bleach.' He pressed the palms of his hands against his eyes, trying his best to not imagine anything.  
________________________________________  
**Tokyo-3**  
 **Several days later**  
 **Hayashibara Books**  
"My deepest apologies, Ikari; my agent confused the titles, and she sent me the wrong book." The old clerk held up a book, titled The _Life Story of the Flash_ (with a somewhat blurry man on the cover, proudly wearing a red suit and hood, with a yellow lightning bolt crossing diagonally a white circle). "I have no idea how it happened, she's usually very reliable, and the titles aren´t even close to each other. I can reimburse you while she gets the right book."

  
Shinji looked at the cover, he had recognized the man on it immediately. "No need, Hayashibara-san. I still want _The Atom's Farewell_ , but I'll buy this one too."

  
"Are you sure, Shinji? It's kinda banged up." Kensuke asked, while checking a big illustrated book about the Atlantic Fleet.  
"Yes. I don't care if it's not in mint condition, as long as it is complete and readable." He took his NERV card from his wallet, and the clerk ran it through the terminal.

  
"If it isn't complete, I'll get you another one or give you a discount on your next order if I can't find a replacement in a reasonable time. You two are among my best clients!" Hayashibara smiled at both kids. Kensuke paid for his book in cash, and put it carefully in his backpack. Although he had to take a couple of school books out to make enough space for his new acquisition. He simply put them in the plastic bag Hayashibara-san had put his new book.

  
While they waited for their train to arrive to the station, Kensuke asked. "So, what's the story with that guy?"

  
"He was the Flash, the Fastest Man Alive. He was one of the most active metahumans back in the JLA days, founding member, and all that." Shinji had taken out the book, and was looking at the foreword. He knew Kensuke wouldn't be offended about him paying any attention to his new book. His friend was just as impatient to check his. Except that he wanted to unwrap it with due ceremony.

  
"Cool! His wife wrote it!" Shinji exclaimed. He had quite a bit of information about the career of the second Flash (and much more on his successor, a more public person), but he didn't know he had been married, or that his wife was a reporter.

  
"He was a forensic detective!"

  
That night, dinner at the Katsuragi Apartment was a little overcooked…

  
…Even Misato noticed.  
________________________________________  
**Joseph Kerr's Happy Farm (aparently abandoned),**  
 **30 miles away from Gotham City**  
 **(August 2002)**

  
Down in a secret basement, a deathly pale man, dressed in lurid purple and yellow filthy clothes, sits on a tall, elaborate chair, and broods. A lonely light bulb tries futilely to dispel the darkness, but only manages to make the shadows even deeper. At the man's feet, several envelopes lie trampled in the dust. His right hand holds limply a jeweled goblet, about to fall down and spill its content on the dirty floor.

  
The smell of rot permeates the air. Decaying food and drink cover the long table, decorated with the same playing cards motifs that cover the walls and floor. A swarm of flies covers the plates, buzzing a droning monotone. Some of them, more daring than the others, walk on his face and hands, eagerly lapping the oils from his skin. And promptly die, victims of the poison that seeps from his body in minute amounts. The legacy of a lifetime dedicated to the most extravagant crimes a human mind could conceive.

  
He doesn't care at all. He feels nothing but absolute apathy. There's nothing to live for anymore. All his dreams and hopes were ground into the dirt by an interloper with no sense of style, no sense of fun, NO SENSE OF HUMOR! And to top it all, he and his brainwashed flunkies had the colossal gall of DYING before he could kill them!

  
A grimace crosses his disfigured face, his ruby red lips part behind the growing green-tinged beard; showing yellow, rotten teeth. His breath reeks to cheap alcohol. Slowly, he raises his bloodshot eyes, until he sees the picture hanging from the opposite wall. A dark blue cowl covered the face of the man who was at the same time, his bitter nemesis and the closest thing to a friend he remembers. Years before, a knife with a clown shaped pommel had been thrown right between his two blank eyes. It remains there to this day, a reminder of their twisted relationship.  
Sure, they had their disagreements. That was true. But who hasn't ever argued with his friends?

  
But now, he mourns. The Old Bad Bat is gone. As gone as their rivalry. Gone forever. He had always been there for him. To chase him in a never ending merry-go-round. Even if one of his little birds had survived to take the mantle, it would never, NEVER! be the same again.

  
And he would know, in the deepest, darkest, and most insane corner of his soul if it was an impostor. Just as he had known the Bat had died.  
They were both connected.

  
They were both… unique.

  
Singular beings.

  
Each was one of a kind.

  
Two sides of the same coin.

  
Coin.

  
Coins.

  
Money.

  
Jewels.

  
All the riches he had accumulated. The jewels stolen from the idiotic collectors. The trophies cast or remade in his own image. The deadly traps and lethal tricks fashioned after playing cards, practical jokes, or clowns. The exorbitant tribute those vulgar bores in Gotham's underground paid him to stave his wrath.

  
All was worthless without Him.

  
All he has left was to wait for death to claim him. A sad, pathetic punchline to the greatest duo act of a clown and a straight man in the whole history of the world.

  
Finally, he allows the goblet to fall from his grip. The sound it makes is like a funerary bell toiling in the dark.

  
He looks down, the expensive envelopes catch his eye.

  
He picks up one at random, and opens it with a dagger.

  
________________________________________  
**Germany (1953)**  
 **Kiehl Manor**  
"(Where did you get these magnificent artifacts, Lorenz)" Exclaimed the matriarch of the Kiehl family, Frau Elise Kiehl. A woman of close to seventy years, tall and slim. Her features were sharp. Even in her youth, she had been compared, disfavourably, with a crow, on acount of both her sharp facial features and her fire-and-brimstone fanatism. Her habit of dressing in black didn't help. She always had a rosary in her hand, and the beads were passed incessantly.

  
"(It was a stroke of luck, Grandmother. While the rest of the group hurried to get back to the city, to party and get drunk to celebrate the end of the course, I stayed behind, to pray at a nearby cave. Just when I was kneeling down, the sun reflected on the rainwater pooled outside, and the light revealed me this treasure, literally.)"

  
Over the study table were gathered a series of tablets and scrolls. They were incredibly ancient, made of an unknown substance. Lorenz Kiehl continued, while his grandmother whispered a prayer. "(Bringing them was simplicity itself. I just had to label them as props for a ridiculous science fiction movie, and no one gave them a second thought.)"

  
"(You will have to do penance for that, my child. Still… you did well in bringing them. They are beautiful.)" The old woman examined closely the texts. "(I don't recognize the language.)"

  
Lorenz waived a hand. "(Neither do I. It has some superficial likeness to old hebrew, but the structure of the symbols and their arrangement are very different. I had the box dated, and it is so old it doesn't match with any known culture.)"

  
Frau Kiehl dropped the scroll like it was burning "(Alien? Those heretic devil's spawns have tainted our paradise many times.)"

  
"(It's possible, I guess.)" Lorenz picked up the scroll and put it back on the box. "(But we found some traces of human fingerprints in one of them, they might be an OOPA. A message sent to the past.)"

  
Frau Kiehl stamped her cane on the floor, "(Hire the best cryptographists and linguists. The best and most discreete. I want to know what this finding of yours means. Maybe God has revealed us the means to purge those devils that walk boldly among us.)"

  
"(Immediately, Grandmother.)" Lorenz Kiehl bowed respectfully, and kissed her forehead before picking up the phone.

  
"(I will supervise your penance tomorrow. Everybody must be cleansed of their sins before any of us can earn a place in God's Paradise. Your father never understood that.)"  
________________________________________  
**Smallville, Kansas**  
 **July 2000**

  
In the kitchen of the Kent farm, a family mourned the loss of one of their own; a dear family member, not by blood, but by marriage. A big man was slumped over the table, openly crying for his wife and unborn son. Next to him, his adoptive mother hugged him awkwardly. At the other side of the table, his adoptive father carefully kept his trembling hands under the table.

  
"(I can't stay, Ma.)" said the man, raising his head and wiping his tears for a moment. "(I-I…)" he broke down in tears again. She just hugged him closer. He might be one of the most powerful people in the world, but his heart was as vulnerable as anyone's, maybe even more. She nodded, and shushed him softly.

  
"(What will you do, Son?)" asked his Father.

  
Clark lifted his head, gaining some control over his emotions. "(Pa… I… I will go away… There's too many memories here. Not only in Metropolis, here at home too. I just can't be Superman with so much pain in my heart. Everything reminds me of her, of them. I will get distracted; and sooner or later, somebody will die.)" He looked at his hands, at the simple golden ring in his left ring finger. "(I will ask my friends to cover for me for a while.)" He smiled sadly. "(J'Onn does a wicked impersonation of me. Remember?)"

  
Jonathan Kent smiled back, "(Tell him to come visit us from time to time. We will have some Chocos ready for him.)"

  
"(I will, Pa. I have many things to do before I go. I need to put everything in order.)" He unhooked the old-style telephone and dialed a number.  
"(Hello. I'd like to speak with Perry White, please. I'm Clark Kent. Yes, I-I'll wait.)" He passed the phone to his other ear, accepting a tissue from his Mother. "(Hello, Perry. No. Not yet. I'd like to take that sabbatical now, please. Starting now if you can arrange it. Thank you, I know you will miss her too. Please say goodbye to Jimmy and Cat. I'll be traveling for a while. I don't know if I will come back. Goodbye, Perry; it was an honor working at the Planet. Take care, and tell Alice I said goodbye.)"

  
He hung up the phone. "(I'll set things at the bank so the royalties from my novels will be deposited at your account. It will help pay the farms expenses and you can hire some extra people for next year.)"

  
"(There's no need for that, Clark. We have been doing well these past years.)"

  
"(I know, but I don't want that money to just gather dust in the bank. I don't know how long until I get back.)" He stood like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. "(But I promise you, I will come back. Goodbye, take care of yourselves, please.)"

  
"(Take all the time you need, Clark.)" Both Kents hugged their son goodbye.

  
He went to his old room, and changed into his costume. But not his usual uniform, this one was made of a darker blue, and the yellow background in his chest insignia had been replaced by mournful black.

  
Clark Kent's clothes and glasses were neatly put in a drawer. He opened the window, and flew away.  
________________________________________  
**Tokyo-3**  
 **Present Day**  
 **On the way to Rei Ayanami's Apartment**

  
"How are you achieving higher rates of synchronization with Unit-01, Ikari?" Rei asked without preamble, after a few minutes of walking in silence. The question surprised Shinji so completely he stopped in his tracks for a second. He hadn't expected such a question from Rei; from the Commander or Dr. Akagi, yes, Maybe even from Lt. Ibuki. Certainly not from his quasi-sister. He gathered his thoughts. He had a nagging little suspicion about exactly from where; or better said, from whom, that question had come from.

  
"I am… not completely sure, Rei." A sudden inspiration hit him. He had been wracking his brain for weeks, trying to find a discreet way to get Rei to move from her practically condemned building to a better place. But he didn't want to arise suspicions, especially from the Commander. Maybe this was the chance he had been hoping for. He took a few moments to think on what to tell her and how.

  
"Well… I guess I'm in a much better mood since I got here to Tokyo-3." He kicked a pebble out of his way, watching it bounce along the sidewalk. "Back with my sensei, I was alone most of the time. I had no one to talk with. No one to take care of me or to take care of. It was… mind-crushingly boring too."

  
He kicked the pebble again. "Since I came here, I have made friends. Toji, Kensuke and Hikari are fun to talk or play with. Misato takes care of me, I help her with housework, and try to take care of her and Pen-Pen as best as I can. Misato's apartment is much nicer than my sensei's house, it feels like… like home, not just a place to eat and sleep." After a few steps, he added. "And I like to talk with you. I think I feel like we are like a family."

  
_'Wait, if the Commander hears that, he might suspect something._ ' he thought, and ended with, "All of us."

  
"I see."

  
They continued their walk, until they arrived to the building where Rei was the only tenant. Shinji was amazed that she still got any mail delivered, even if she didn't actually read it.

  
"I'll see you tomorrow, Rei."

  
"Yes. Thank you, Ikari." She retrieved her school bag from Shinji's hands, turned around, and went to the stairs.

  
As Shinji walked back home, he saw a shadow at the other end of the street, it was a tall man, his cloak flapping in the wind. As he got closer to the man, he noticed a familiar color shift around him. Just like when he had traveled through time with the Phantom Stranger.  
________________________________________  
**Legion of Superheroes HQ**  
 **A Possible XXXI Century**

  
"Any luck yet, Brainy?"

  
"(It's not a matter of luck.)" Answered testily the resident genius at the Legion, Brainiac 5, while checking a graphical representation of the time stream around later XXth Century and Early XXIst. "(This needs the most accurate control, the most precise instruments, and some quiet and peace! And my code-name is not 'Brainy', it's Brainiac 5.)"

  
"(Ok, ok; you don't have to yell.)" Superboy raised a conciliatory hand. "(I just wanted to know when I can go back home. Don't take it wrong, the XXXIst Century is a nice place to visit, but I left all my stuff back in the XXth Century, and I don't trust Rex won't sell it before a week has passed. Although Roxy will put up a fight, I hope.)" He scratched his head. "(At least for my collection of Superman Cards. I got three holofoils of myself!)"  
"(Kon-El. I want to get you back to your proper place in time as much as you do. Even more.)" He rolled his eyes, having copied subconsciously the gesture from Cosmic Boy. "(But there's a chronal storm at your point of egress. If I send you back to the moment you came from, you would get erased from the time line. There's a cosmic level event happening at the turn of the XXIst Century, and another around 2015. I haven't been able to find any records of either event; and they are causing a lot of interference in the intervening years. I need to find a safe window to send you through. The best I could offer you now would be to send you back to some years after you left.)"

  
"(Oh. That would be bad.)"

  
"(Very. Now, will you please go see if Cosmic Boy or M'Onel have found you something to do while I look for a stable window to send you back?)" He adjusted a minute screw in a very complex-looking machine. "Send Linda here, I need to take some readings of her.)"

  
"(Uh, sure, Brainy…)" he noticed the glare in the coluan's eyes, and added, lamely "(…ac Five.)"

  
He got out the lab before Brainiac 5 blew a gasket. The coluan had a notoriously short fuse where Kon-El was concerned.  
________________________________________  
**Tokyo-3**  
 **A Second Off-Synch from the Present Time**  
**On the way between Rei Ayanami's and Misato Katsuragi's Apartments**

  
"Stranger!" Shinji exclaimed as he got near the mysterious man. He responded with a touch to the brim of his hat.  
"Shinji. You are doing well, I see."

  
"Are you OK? I though you would appear when the giant robot went rogue."

  
"I'm fine, just a little busy with other matters, still related to preventing Third Impact. You handled the Jet Alone event very well." They kept walking, rounding a small park in the route between Misato an Rei's apartments.

  
Shinji beamed, he wasn't used to praise; and in fact, it made him feel a little unconfortable; like he was some kind of fake. He realized now that depriving him of praise was only another of the Commander's ways to bind him to his will. The Commander's praise didn't have any worth for him anymore, as he couldn't help but suspect of his motives. His friends' opinions, and especially, his own, did matter to him much more.  
"You have started to free Rei from Gendo Ikari's control. But you must be careful."

  
"I know. I almost tipped my hand to her. I hope it doesn't cause problems later."

  
"I don't think so, but in any case, I'll keep watching. You have also done well about Miss Soryu. She is not so alone anymore, even so far away from you and your friends. However, her mental state is still fragile."

  
"I will treat her carefully."

  
"In a way, that could be harmful. If you always yield to her outbursts, she will end up despising you. She needs an equal she can respect, a rival to push her to do better as much as shee will need a friend and maybe a shoulder to cry on, if she ever allows herself to do so. Take pride on your deeds, and aknowledge hers. But never, ever, belittle or humiliate her."

  
"I would never do such a thing. I've been on the receiving end of that enough times to hate it." He looked at the Stranger, seeking his approval for another matter. "I've been writing to her. She knows a bit about me and my friends. She wrote a little note for Toji, Kensuke, Hikari, and Rei each. I think she looks forward to meeting them."

  
"That is a very good start, Shinji. You three pilots need a strong web of bonds, among yourselves and with other people."  
________________________________________  
**A Possible XXVIth Century**  
 **Somewhere in Nevada, USA**

  
"(An amazing discovery, my young friend! Amazing indeed! This place is in much better condition than other ruins we have explored! There's even power!)" Doctor Canus gushed at the doors of a strange complex. Over the eroded metal doors, a weird symbol was still visible. Half a fig leaf, and a motto that read "(God… is in his Heaven… All in …Earth is Well.)" His canine features lit with the joy of discovery. He continued, reading another sign. "(NERV. …Branch-2.)" He scratched his nose, "(Shouldn't it be 'Nerve'? There's no space for another letter…)"

  
Near him, a young human with long blond hair stood a few steps away, looking around, alert for any danger. He only wore a ratty pair of old jeans, that barely covered half his thighs, and a pair of blue tinted leather boots. At his waist hanged an old but still working gun, recovered from some ancient ruins. His skin was deeply tanned by years of wandering the world, ever since he left the ruins of New York.  
"(What does that means, Doctor Canus?)"

  
"(I don't know, but this was a lucky find! I'm just glad the gorillas lost our tracks before we got here. Look! It seems this was a human military base.)" A mummified corpse rested on a crumbling desk. It s clothes hung loosely from its bony frame. A metallic helmet covered its head. "(Incredible! It's very well preserved. No decay at all!)" After a brief study of the corpse, he went to the other side of the room.  
"(There's a strange device near this door.)" Canus rubbed a square thing near the device, cleaning the dust accumulated. He read the strange words neatly printed on it. "(All… employees… must… wear… their… I.D. Cards…)" he rubbed his right ear, thinking. "(What does that mean? Some kind of ceremonial clothes?)"

  
Kamandi smiled. He knew the answer to this particular mystery. "(It was a little paper square, or… what did they call it..? Ah, yes! Plastic! The ancient ones used them to show who they were, and to get access to restricted places.)"

  
"(Wait. You mean they didn't tell each other their names?)"

  
"(I'm not sure how that worked.)" Kamandi shrugged. "(I do know those could be used to show that one was a part of an organization.)" Unceremoniously, he moved the old skeleton, finding said ID under its torso. "(Once I saw Captain Bat use one of them to enter a metal cave. He just took it, and slid it downwards a track in one of those devices. The red light turned green, and the door opened.)"

  
"(Let me try.)" Canus took the card from Kamandi's hands, and did as the boy had told. Nothing happened, the light stayed resolutely red. He tried again, turning the card over several times, until a beep! sounded, and the green light replaced the red one. The door opened with a hiss of cold air escaping. "(Oh, my! This place is wonderful! The Great Disaster doesn't seem to have affected it too much. And not even the pass of time has left much of a mark here.)"

  
Kamandi took out his gun, and checked there were bullets in the weapon. "(True, Doctor Canus. But I think we must act carefully.)" He nodded towards the skeleton. "(We don't want to end up like him, do we?)"  
________________________________________  
**NERV**  
 **Present Day**  
 **Commander's Lair**

  
Dr. Akagi shuffled her stack of papers to give herself some time before answering. "The Third Child might be right. He has steadily improved his synch rates since he has been living with Captain Katsuragi. While Rei´s living conditions have not changed at all, he was taken from the previous low in stimuli environment, into a much varied and chaotic one."

  
The Commander steepled his fingers, thinking. On one hand, following the Third's method might end up granting Rei too much independence. He had carefully cultivated the isolation Rei lived in, both physical and social. Since the Third Child's arrival to Tokyo-3, the boy had been unknowingly working to erode said isolation. The cloned girl had never even tried to get off his shadow, but that could change.

  
On the other hand, any combat advantage should be exploited. If having… happy… pilots increased their synch rates, and therefore, their combat efficiency against the Angels, that should be used.

  
"I have to think on this carefully. I don't want Rei to be exposed to inconvenient thoughts. It could be dangerous to the Scenario. Still, I think the idea has merit. After all, should she become inconvenient, she can be replaced with a more pliant clone."  
________________________________________  
**NERV**  
 **Present Day**  
 **Commander's Lair**  
 **(Spiritual Plane)**

  
"Oh, man. You have no idea of just how much I hate your guts!"  
________________________________________

 **Author's Notes** <br />  
________________________________________<br />  
The Emerald Eye of Ekron will be the weapon of choice of the Emerald Empress, a long-time enemy of the Legion of Superheroes, in both the XXX and XXXI Centuries. It's basically a floating green eye, about the size of a basketball.<br />  
The Piercer of the Veils is no part of the DCU, there might be a relic that would serve the purpose I have in mind for it, but really couldn't remember one... And, it sounds kinda Lovecraftian.<br />  
________________________________________<br />  
The Haly Circus has a long story in DC, it was here were the Flying Graysons used to perform.<br />  
I'm not too clear in the subject in DC canon, but at least for this version of the DCU, this is the same circus where Deadman was murdered while performing his trapeze act.<br />  
________________________________________<br />  
Mr. Miracle, Big Barda, and Oberon were created by Jack Kirby in his Fourth World stories. By the end of the Mr. Miracle original series, Scott Free, the titular hero, had more or less adopted a kid to be his apprentice, Shilo Norman.<br />  
As Shinji deduces, the Mr. Miracle touring with the Haly Circus isn't the original. The Young Barda look-alike who acts as his stage assistant, is Scott and Barda's daughter. She is a younger version of the Ms. Miracle character, barely seen in Kingdom Come, who wore an armor styled after both her parents uniforms.<br />  
We will get to know more about them and Oberon in a few chapters; but I don't promise much, beyond saying right now that she is unable to pilot an Evangelion (she would probably break the controls anyway).<br />  
BTW, technically, Scott Free was actually the second Mr. Miracle, in the first issue of the original series he adopted the stage identity of a murdered escape artist, Thaddeus Brown. Therefore, Shilo would be the third Mr. Miracle.<br />  
Personally, I first knew the characters through the Mexican reprints by Editorial Novaro, which had a weird policy about translations most of the time. In this case, instead of translating Mr. Miracle as the literal "Señor Milagro" or the respectful "Don Milagro", which don't really sound impressive enough in Spanish, Novaro used a nonsensical word and a tagline, so the name was now "Maxisol, el Hombre Milagro" (Maxisol, the Miracle Man). It might simply be that 'Milagros' is a relatively common female name.<br />  
The second publisher, Editorial Vid, which got the DC licenses in the middle '80s, just used Hombre Milagro, or Milagro, for short.<br />  
________________________________________<br />  
The book Shinji got, The Life Story of the Flash, really exists, it was first introduced in The Flash book as a plot point, and to foreshadow very important events to happen later. DC published a physical version of the book, in hardcover. Sadly, there's no real world version of The Atom's Farewell, as far as I know.<br />  
________________________________________<br />  
OOPA (or OOPArt) is the acronym for Out Of Place Artifact. Meaning something that simply couldn't exist at the time or place it is found. For example, say, the remains of a cell phone found in an archeological dig of a Medieval England church; or human footsteps among the fossilized footsteps of a dinosaur herd.<br />  
________________________________________<br />  
The scene in the Kent Farm was directly inspired by the Adventures of Superman Annual from 1991; however, in this version of the DCU, there was no Armageddon 2001. Let's just say that Second Impact stopped the rise of Monarch (and anyway, the sudden change in direction of that story was terrible; Monarch should have been Captain Atom) and therefore, Waverider doesn't exist.

Conveniently, there were no exact dates for the events depicted, not even for Lois Lane's death.<br />  
________________________________________<br />  
Although I am a reader of the Legion since the issue (reprinted in Mexico) where Karate Kid, Princess Projectra, Ferro Lad and Nemesis Kid joined the team, my favorite version of the group is the Rebooted legion (after Zero Hour), also known as the Archie Legion. Also, the clone Superboy as depicted after the Death of Superman and before the Outsiders/Titans crossover "Graduation Day" is one of my favorite characters. Having a grim, angsty Superboy just doesn´t work for me.

Linda Danvers is another time displaced character, Supergirl.

Why send them both to the future? One of my favorite stories from the DCU is Kingdom Come. As Mark Waid and Alex Ross had no idea of what to do with Superboy and Supergirl, they simply sent them, permanently, to the XXXth Century Where (or better said, When) they joined the Legion of Superheroes as full-time members. They are only seen in a single panel of the story. You just have to look for them.<br />  
________________________________________<br />  
DC used to have several conflicting futures. Jack Kirby´s Kamandi's was one of the weirdest. It might be described as a riff on Planet of the Apes, but with waaay more animal types. Not only apes, also dogs, tigers, bears, cheetas, snakes, dolphins, and more. Several, like gorillas and tigers, had changed their shape to a more humanoid one; others, like snakes and dolphins, only got their intelligence boosted and gained human-like speech. Several other species of animals were not changed, like horses, or changed into giant forms, like grashoppers.

A few barely intelligent humans existed as pets or slaves to the animals. Kamandi, and a few mutants were the only civilized human people on the planet. Technically, Kamandi was the last "pure" human, as his friends didn't consider themselves fully human.

Interestingly, Kamandi interacted (via time-travel) with the then present day characters, like Superman or Batman. Who, BTW, was called Captain Bat by Kamandi, in the times they co-starred in The Brave and The Bold.

The cause of such a state of things wasn´t exactly specified by Kirby, it could have been a nuclear war, or something else, as there was not enough radiation in the setting. In this story, Dr. Canus and Kamandi will eventually find out what happened, although they will probably have problems to understand it. Sure, they will get to interact directly with at least one Evangelion character, with some time-travel involved, but said character won´t be in possession of all the facts.<br />  
________________________________________<br />  
And yes. I am cherry-picking elements from all over the DCU. Maybe one or two things from the DCAU will show up up later.


End file.
